Karachi: Confirming the death of their chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a US drone strike in Balochistan, the Afghanistan Taliban named Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzada as his successor and the new leader of the terrorist organisation.
According to the Express Tribune, a statement from the Taliban said that “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announces that Mullah Akhtar Mansour embraced shahadat in a US drone strike on Shaban 14, in the border region,”
While confirming his death, the group also announced Mullah Mansour’s successor as Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzada, who was appointed the new chief of the group.
Sirajuddin Haqqani and Maulvi Yakub have been appointed as deputy chiefs of the group.
United States had earlier claimed that they had taken out Mansour in an airstrike in Pakistan, however, doubts remained in the air over his death as conflicting reports emerged.
The Pentagon confirmed the airstrike in a statement but did not say if the Taliban leader was taken out.
The Taliban revealed last summer that Mansour assumed command following the death of longtime leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, who died in Pakistan in 2013.
According to the U.N. Security Council sanctions list, Mansour previously was the Taliban’s minister of civil aviation and transportation and was considered “a prominent member of the Taliban leadership. (ANI)