Bounty for Pakistani Taliban leader

Mehsud already has a $5m bounty on his head that was promised by the US state department [EPA] Pakistan has offered a $615,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Baitullah Mehsud, the local Taliban leader who is currently in hiding in the tribal belt. Two national Urdu-language newspapers and local papers in the northwestern city of Peshawar carried adverts on Sunday offering rewards for Mehsud, dead or alive, as also for 10 other senior members. "The government has announced a cash reward for anybody providing authentic information leading to the capture of these (11), dead or alive," the advertisement, which listed the men's names and bounties, said. "Innocent people are being killed because of the bloody activities of these so-called defenders of Islam." Pakistani air force jets have been attacking Taliban hideouts for several weeks as the government prepares to launch a ground operation to root out Mehsud and his men. Fayyaz Tooro, home secretary of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), said the reward announcements marked the first time the Pakistan government had put a price for Mehsud's capture. "This list has been issued by the interior ministry and has been published for the first time in close co-operation with security agencies, which provided invaluable information to the government," Tooro said. Hostile territory Mehsud, who allegedly has ties to al-Qaeda, already has a $5m bounty on his head that was promised by the US state department, which considers him "a key al-Qaeda facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan". Pakistan blames Mehsud for a wave of deadly attacks that have killed hundreds of people in the past two years and has vowed to remove him from his fiefdom. In depth Videos: Money worries stir discontent Taliban conducts revenge attacks Conflict reaches Islamabad Police battle Pakistani Taliban Pictures: Refuge for Swat's Sikhs Lahore bombing Diary: Imran Khan Riz Khan: Obama's 'AfPak' strategy Riz Khan: The battle for the soul of Pakistan Interview: Asif Ali Zardari Q&A: The struggle for Swat Your views: Crisis in Swat Focus: The fight for northwest Pakistan Talking to the Taliban Pakistan's war Witness: Pakistan in crisis Profile: Baitullah Mehsud Pakistan's military is likely to try to stir up rivalries among the Taliban in order to gain allies before any operation into the hostile territory Afghanistan's border, analysts and security sources say. But Qari Zainuddin, a rising tribal leader who defected from Mehsud's Taliban group, was assassinated recently in an attack claimed by Mehsud's tribe, dashing hopes of internal divisions. Pakistan's northwestern region has become a stronghold for both al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters who fled Afghanistan following the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government in 2001. Mehsud organised tribal fighters together and formed his Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan group in 2007. Since then, he has extended his reach into North Waziristan and Bajaur among other federally administered tribal areas. A $615,000 reward for Maulana Fazlullah, the Taliban chief of Swat valley in the NWFP, has already been offered by Pakistan. Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, said on Sunday that the military operation in Swat had been almost completed. "The entire nation wants terrorism to be eliminated and law and order restored," he said. "There is no room for any negotiations with the militants. This is the time for a decisive action against them."