DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN (REUTERS) - The Pakistani Taleban voted on Saturday to promote their No. 2 commander, Khan Said, also known as Sajna, to replace leader Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a strike by a US drone, militant commanders and security sources said.

Said is believed to have masterminded an attack on a jail in north-west Pakistan that freed nearly 400 prisoners last year and an attack on a Pakistani air force base in the same year.

Mehsud was killed by a US drone in north-west Pakistan, near the Afghan border, on Friday.