An undated handout picture released on Aug. 1, 2015 by the Taliban showing Mullah Muhammad Akhtar Mansoor.(Photo: AFGHAN TALIBAN MILITANTS / HANDO, EPA)
The Afghan Taliban announced<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Wednesday that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its new leader is Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, a hawkish deputy of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mullah Akhtar Mansour<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who was killed in an American<span style="color: Red;">*</span>drone strike last week.
While<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mansour was killed in Pakistan on Saturday when his vehicle was struck by a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>drone, the Taliban only confirmed his death Wednesday.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The insurgent group said he was chosen at a meeting of Taliban leaders, but offered no other details.
Akhundzada<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is a religious cleric and scholar and the former leader of the Taliban's court system who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>known for his extremist views. His appointment comes amid a leadership crisis for the militant movement following the death of its founder Mullar Omar last summer.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mullah Yaqoub, Omar's son, was named a deputy of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Akhundzada along with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Haqqani leads the Taliban-allied<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Haqqani Network terrorist organization that held U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl before his release in a prisoner swap.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The<span style="color: Red;">*</span>U.S. State Department<span style="color: Red;">*</span>says the group is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>one of the most lethal insurgent groups targeting international military advisers and Afghan personnel in the country and has put a $10 million bounty on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Haqqani's head.
The Taliban has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>been fighting to overthrow Afghanistan's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>government since 2001. Akhundzada's appointment<span style="color: Red;">*</span>came<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as a suicide bomber on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Wednesday struck<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a minibus carrying court employees in the Afghan capital, killing at least 10 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, making good on its vow to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>target government workers in Kabul's judiciary.
Powered By WizardRSS.com |
Full Text RSS Feed
