The tribal zone was also hammered by suspected US missile strikes, which targeted a purported Taliban training center and then hours later hit a funeral procession for some of those killed in the earlier strike.
Two intelligence officials said up to 60 people were killed - including Sangeen Khan, a top aide to Mehsud - and 60 more wounded. The military said it had no information on the attack, and it was impossible to independently verify the information because the area is dangerous and restricted to outsiders.
In the first strike, three suspected US missiles hit the training center in the village of Najmarai in the Makeen area of South Waziristan, said the two intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Hours later, four more missiles blasted into the evening funeral procession.
“I saw three drones, they dropped bombs,’’ said Sohail Mehsud, a resident of Makeen, which is the home district of Baitullah Mehsud.
Dozens of such strikes have been carried out in the tribal regions over the last year. US officials concede they have been using drone-fired missiles to target suspected militants in Pakistan, but they do not comment on individual strikes.
Zainuddin was gunned down in the nearby town of Dera Ismail Khan. He had emerged as Mehsud’s chief rival and had criticized the militant leader over attacks that killed civilians.
Dr. Mahmood Khan Bitani said he pronounced Zainuddin dead on arrival at a local hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Baz Mohammad, an aide to the militant leader who also was wounded, said a guard barged into a room at Zainuddin’s compound after morning prayers and opened fire. He accused Mehsud of being behind the attack.
“It was definitely Baitullah’s man who infiltrated our ranks, and he has done his job,’’ Mohammad said, vowing to avenge the death.
He later filed a criminal complaint with police, alleging the shooting was carried out at Mehsud’s behest.
A spokesman for Mehsud could not immediately be reached to respond to the accusation.
