Terror expert says Mehsud's New York killings claim opportunistic

London, Apr.4 (ANI): A leading terror expert has rubbished Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud's claim that he was behind Friday's shootout in upstate New York.

Fourteen people, including the gunman, died in the incident at the American immigration centre.

The Daily Express quoted Professor Paul Wilkinson, the chairman of the University of St Andrews Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, as saying that it seemed "unlikely" that terrorists were involved in the shootings as the evidence so far seemed to point to a lone gunman with no political message.

Mehsud's claim that his group was responsible for the shootings in New York are "opportunistic" and there is no evidence to support them, he added.

"My assessment at the moment is that we don't have any corroborating evidence that would support Mehsud's claim and that it seems rather unlikely so we should be extremely cautious about the claim," Professor Wilkinson said.

"There have been a number of these dreadful, tragic gun attacks recently across America and this appears to be of that kind," he added.

"There have been no reports of any political statements or threats to link this with extremists in Pakistan or Afghanistan," he said.(ANI)