{Armed group names Haibatullah Akhunzada as Mullah Mansoor’s successor plus two new deputy leaders.}
An Afghan Taliban spokesman has confirmed the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, the armed group’s leader, in a US drone strike and announced the appointment of Haibatullah Akhunzada as his successor.
Agencies on Wednesday quoted the Taliban spokesman as saying that Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqub have been appointed as new deputy leaders.
The announcement followed confirmation on Monday by President Barack Obama that Mansoor was killed in a US strike in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan’s chief executive, said on Twitter on Sunday that Mansoor was dead. Afghanistan’s spy agency also said he had been killed.
Mansoor was chosen to head the Afghan Taliban last summer after it was announced that the group’s longtime leader Mullah Omar had died two years earlier.
The Taliban is the most powerful anti-government group in Afghanistan, where an estimated 11,000 civilians were killed or wounded and 5,500 government troops and police officers died last year alone.
It seized power in 1996 and ruled Afghanistan until it was toppled by a US-led invasion after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.
Almost 15 years later, about 13,000 troops from a US-NATO coalition remain in the country, including about 9,800 Americans.
Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said Akhunzada is a well-known figure in the group.
“He is not a new man in Taliban leadership; he was the second deputy of Mullah Mansoor,” he said.
“He is very respected. He’s an old man, definitely older than Mullah Omar, who referred to him [Akhunzada] as his teacher.
“Akhunzada is from Kandahar, from the Noorzai tribe. It’s a strong tribe among the Taliban leadership. All these things are signals that he might be able to unite the Taliban. That looks like one of the reasons they didn’t choose [Sirajuddin] Haqqani as the leader.”
Al Jazeera’s Azimy said Akhunzada has held the role of chief justice within the Taliban previously.
“He was very active and a senior member of the Quetta Shura,” he said.
Leave a Reply