Intelligence officials: Pakistani Taliban No. 2 has been buried after death in US drone strike

FILE - In this July 28, 2011 file photo, Taliban No 2 commander Waliur Rehman talks to the Associated Press during an interview in Shawal area of South Waziristan along the Afghanistan border in Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed the commander of the Pakistani Taliban. The militant group denies he is dead. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mahsud, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this July 28, 2011 file photo, Taliban No. 2 commander Waliur Rehman talks to the Associated Press during an interview in Shawal area of South Waziristan along the Afghanistan border in Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed the commander of the Pakistani Taliban. The militant group denies he is dead. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mahsud, File) (The Associated Press)

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – Pakistani intelligence officials say the Pakistani Taliban's deputy leader has been buried after his death in a U.S. drone strike.

The killing of Waliur Rehman has not been confirmed by the White House or the official Pakistani Taliban spokesman. But it would be a major blow to the militant group. The U.S. had accused Rehman of involvement in a 2009 suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA employees.

Rehman's killing could rattle the incoming Pakistani ruling party's goal of negotiating with the Taliban. Rehman had previously been considered amenable to talks.

Two intelligence officials say informants on the ground told them Rehman was buried Wednesday night. Two militants claimed they attended the funeral.

All four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.