Mehsud believed to be shot dead 

Kidnapper of two Chinese engineers Abdullah Mehsud may be dead

    ISLAMABAD, March 17 (Xinhuanet) -- A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who claimed responsibility for the abduction of two Chinese engineers in Pakistan's tribal area last year, is "safe and alive", his spokesman said on Thursday.

    Pakistani media Monday quoted an unnamed spokesman for Abdullah Mehsud, the abductor, as saying that Mehsud had died on Saturday after he received injuries in a clash with security forces on March 5.

    "I reject reports that Abdullah Mehsud had died after wounding in a military operation," Mohammad Yousaf, spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked militant commander, Thursday told the BBC Urduservice.

    The report of BBC said Mehsud had appointed Yousaf as his spokesman in an interview with the radio service.

    "Rumors about Mehsud's death has been spread either by the government or miscreants to take specific motives," Yousuf said.  

    According to Yousuf, the appointment of spokesman is to ensure Mehsud's safety.

    President General Musharraf told BBC in an interview aired on Tuesday that the military was trying to find out whether or not Mehsud had been killed.

    "We are reasonably sure that he is dead, that's because we knew and we attacked, we attacked very swiftly," the BBC quoted Musharraf as saying.

    Security forces have been searching for Mehsud in the mountainous tribal region since October, when his militants kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on a dam project in tribal area.

    One of the Chinese engineers was killed during a rescue operation by security forces.

    Mehsud was released last March from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after the US officials judged he was no longer a security threat to the United States.  Enditem