This one goes back to the old adage, divide and conquer. Perhaps this splintering in the Taliban will grow, and make it easier to crush them…

Taliban chief killed by ‘own guard’

A Taliban leader who criticised the group’s Pakistani head of command over attacks that killed two civilians has been shot dead, reportedly by one of his own guards.

The shooting of Qari Zainuddin on Tuesday appears to indicate the deepening of divisions within the Taliban as Pakistan’s military conducts an operation to rid the Swat valley and South Waziristan of Taliban strongholds.

Zainuddin, who was shot dead in the town of Dera Ismail Khan in the southern tip of the North West Frontier Province, had emerged as Baitullah Mehsud’s chief rival.

Zainuddin was pronounced dead with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest upon arrival at the local hospital, a local doctor said.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, said: “Zainuddin had accused Baitullah Mehsud of going against the tenets of Islam for carrying out attacks on religious scholars.”He said he would take his men and go after Baitullah Mehsud.”

Baz Mohammad, one of Zainuddin’s aides, was also wounded and said that the guard stormed into a room at the compound immediately following morning prayers and opened fire. Mohammad accused Mehsud of organising the attack.

“It was definitely Baitullah’s man who infiltrated our ranks, and he has done his job,” Mohammad said.

Read the entire article.

Wow, I had to read this one twice. Mehsud is the Taliban commander who vowed to attack the US in spectacular fashion. Now we see this. Why can’t they just kill each other and stop bugging the civilized world? It’s win-win. They get to spill blood for allah, we get to reap the benefits of a world with fewer and fewer jihadis.

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