Pakistani authorities said intelligence reports suggested Mehsud was almost certainly killed along with his younger wife, but the militant commander's deputies contested the claim.

Government agencies were trying to collect 'material evidence' of Mehsud's death, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Islamabad Tuesday.

'As soon as we receive any confirmation, we will make it public,' Malik said.

Independent verification was not possible because of the inaccessibility of the remote region.

Mehsud is described as Pakistan's enemy number one and also carries a $5-million bounty on his head for being a key facilitator of Al Qaeda in South Waziristan, a territory littered with Taliban sanctuaries.