Afghan Taliban appoint Hebatullah as new leader after Mullah Mansour’s death

The Afghan Taliban have confirmed that their leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in the US drone strike on Saturday and now a new leader has been appointed in his place. The news was shared on Wednesday and Mansour’s successor, as the chief of the militant group, is identified as Maulvi Hebatullah Akhundzada.

“Hebatullah Akhundzada has been appointed as the new leader of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) after a unanimous agreement in the shura (supreme council), and all the members of the shura pledged allegiance to him,” the Taliban said in a statement which was released yesterday.

The statement further added that Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Omar’s son, Mullah Yaqoob, have been appointed as the deputy supreme leaders of the Afghan Taliban.

Hebatullah was appointed as the leader of the Taliban group through a unanimous vote. Unnamed sources told media reporters that there are some Taliban who are not happy with Hebatullah’s appointment as the leader as they have their differences with him. The source further added that if Mullah Yaqoob was nominated, the differences would have resolved.

Mullah Mansour was killed in a US drone strike on Saturday, while he was travelling from Taftan to Balochistan. A day after his death, the Afghan Taliban leadership met to decide who Mansour’s successor will be.

The strike targeting Mullah Mansour was an incursion into Pakistan and Islamabad registered a strong protest claiming that its sovereignty had been violated. The Government of Pakistan was informed of the strike only after it took place.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on May 25 2016. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.