The Pakistani Taliban confirmed the death of Hakimullah Meshud after a U.S. drone strike hit a village outside Miran Shah just as Meshud entered the area in a vehicle, the Associated Press reported.
Four others in the vehicle were also killed and have been identified as Meshud's cousin, an uncle, one of his guards and the fourth has not yet been confirmed, the AP reported.
Azam Tariq, a Pakistan Taliban spokesman in the South Waziristan tribal area, gave the first official confirmation of Meshud's death a day after the drone attack, the AP reported.
"We are proud of the martyrdom of Hakimullah Mehsud," Tariq told the AP by telephone from an undisclosed location. "We will continue our activities."
Meshud, whose reputation was of a merciless leader who specialized in suicide attacks in Pakistan, has been replaced by Khan Sayed, also known as Sajna, and was the number two in command after Meshud, according to BBC News.
According to BBC News, the Taliban's ruling council met on Saturday to decide on a new leader, and unconfirmed reports, because officials are not allowed to speak to journalist, say regional commander Khan Sayed Sajna has been elected the new leader.
Sayed is believed to have planned an attack on a jail in northwest Pakistan that freed nearly 400 prisoners in 2012 and an attack on a Pakistani air force base in the same year, according to BBC News.
The Pakistani Taliban is comprised of multiple militant groups who have been battling the government since 2007 and whose goal is to take down the Pakistan democratic system and replace it with Islamic law, according to the AP. The Taliban also wishes to cut off all and any U.S. ties.
Many local residents feel the death of Meshud will bring more Taliban violence, and Chaudhry Nisa Ali Khan, Pakistan's interior minister said Pakistan security forces are now on high alert.
"This is not just the killing of one person, it's the death of all peace efforts," Khan said, according to BBC News.
This fear of violence comes from past retaliatory attacks due to the killing of Taliban commanders, and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has plans to speak with the Taliban to end its reign of violence which has left thousands dead due to bombings and attack across the country, BBC News reported.
