Taliban militants confirmed the death of their supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor on Wednesday, and also announced a less-known religious scholar, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada as the new leader of the insurgent group.
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor had been killed by a U.S. military drone inside the Pakistani town of Dalbandin in the southern Balochistan province on Saturday, with the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) and U.S. President Barack Obama both confirming his death.
Visiting U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Monday the death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a statement issued in Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Monday.
Afghan Taliban top leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was reportedly killed by a U.S. drone strike launched at a small town in Pakistan's southwest province of Balochistan along the Pak-Afghan border, reported local Urdu TV channel ARY on Sunday.
Cracks further appeared within Taliban rank as infighting between supporters of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor and his opponents headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasoul have killed 15 fighters from both sides in the western region of Afghanistan since Sunday, officials said Tuesday.
The new Afghan Taliban chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, has not closed the option of the fragile peace talks in his first audio message the group released to the media at the weekend.
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