Chaos In Pakistan's Taliban Region...New Taliban Leader Named? Is Hakeemullah Mehsud Actually Dead?

You want to talk about an informational keystone kops scenario, just look at what is supposedly going on with the Taliban in Pakistan. From the article at the Telegraph, we see that the Taliban in Pakistan have supposedly appointed a new leader to replace Hakeemullah Mehsud who died of wounds from a U.S. hellfire strike but then we see a new article here at The Long War Journal that addresses another Taliban commander saying that Mehsud is going to prove he is still alive.

First, from the Telegraph article, the ominous report of Mehsud's successor:

Noor Jamal, who uses the nom de guerre Mullah Toofan, has reportedly been declared acting leader of the militants after Mehsud was mortally wounded in an American missile strike last month and is believed to have died.
Details of Mullah Toofan first emerged last week when he was seen in mobile phone video footage flogging two men and a teenage boy in Pakistan's tribal belt.

Villagers told one newspaper the commander "kills humans like one will kill chickens".
Mullah Toofan, aged in his early forties, has served the Taliban as a commander in the Orakzai and Kurrum tribal agencies.

Now it sounds like Toofan is a real sweetheart, doesn't it? The good news is this asshat now would have a bullseye painted on his back and soon, he would start to hear predator drones in his dreams. Gone will be the day of him flogging a boy in an open courtyard - he'll be huddled in a dark corner of a hut somewhere hoping that those around him having leaked his position.

At the same time, the war of opinion continues on the body temperature of Hakeemullah Mehsud, the Taliban leader with apparently 9 lives. From the article at The Long War Journal:

Another Taliban commander has denied recent reports that the terror group's top leader is dead, and said the leader would soon release evidence to prove he is alive.

The Taliban shura had advised Hakeemullah to maintain silence after the second report of his death, the commander told The News. Hakeemullah did not agree with the advice, the commander said, but followed it. Azam Tariq, Hakeemullah's spokesman, had said that the terror group's leader would no longer release statements each time he was reported dead as US and Pakistani intelligence agencies hope to use the information to track his location.
But the shura changed its decision after the latest report of Hakeemullah's death on Feb. 9, which supposedly occurred near the city of Multan while Hakeemullah was being transferred to Karachi for medical treatment. The report originated from a Pakistani television channel and was quickly picked up by the international media as proof that Hakeemullah was dead.
"Everybody, particularly Amir Saib (Hakeemullah) was scoffing at the recent media reports that claimed he had died of wounds in Multan while being shifted to Karachi for treatment," the Taliban commander said. Hakeemullah now wants to make the press answer for their reports of his death.

I've about given up trying to determine who is right in all of this mess but my gut feeling is that Mehsud is still alive but he is one hurting raghead. I think he was injured badly in that hellfire strike and somewhere along the line got some medical attention that saved his life but this clown is laying on the ground somewhere with water dribbling down his chin and feeling his guts rotting from the inside out. Whether dead or not, there is one thing we can be sure of - the efforts of the Taliban in Pakistan have been hugely impacted ever since the hellfire strike targeted Mehsud.

New leader for Pakistani Taliban

Noor Jamal, who uses the nom de guerre Mullah Toofan, has reportedly been declared acting leader of the militants after Mehsud was mortally wounded in an American missile strike last month and is believed to have died.
Details of Mullah Toofan first emerged last week when he was seen in mobile phone video footage flogging two men and a teenage boy in Pakistan's tribal belt.

Villagers told one newspaper the commander "kills humans like one will kill chickens".
Mullah Toofan, aged in his early forties, has served the Taliban as a commander in the Orakzai and Kurrum tribal agencies.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior minister, said this week he has "credible" information Mehsud died from his wounds after the missile strike. While Taliban spokesmen have disputed this, intelligence reports have suggested he may have died en route to a clinic in Karachi.
Mullah Toofan will assume the leadership of a group blamed for thousands of deaths including the assassination of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Mobile phone footage shows Mullah Toofan flogging a man accused of speaking out against the Taliban and another who had neglected his prayers. A teenage boy was beaten for not growing a beard.
In Afghanistan, Taliban fighters on Thursday clashed with US marines outside Marjah in Helmand province. The militant-held town is the focus of Operation Moshtarak, the imminent Nato-led assault to clear the area of up to 1,000 Taliban fighters and win the confidence of local people.
American, Afghan and British ground forces have spent two weeks manoevering toward the town and assassinating Taliban commanders ahead of an attack they said would use "overwhelming force".
Marines said the Taliban fighters were apparently trying to draw them into a bigger fight before they were ready to launch the main attack with an aerial assault.
Insurgents repeatedly fired rockets and mortars at the American and Afghan units poised in foxholes around the town, 380 miles south-west of Kabul.
The Taliban has threatened to plant large numbers of homemade landmines in the town.
Brig Gen Larry Nicholson, commander of the US marines in southern Afghanistan, said: "This may be the largest improvised explosive device threat and largest minefield that Nato has ever faced."