Deputy of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who was
killed in a US drone strike last week, will take control of insurgent group
By Sune Engel Rasmussen
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Wreckage of a destroyed vehicle in which Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor
was allegedly travelling when it was hit by a US drone.
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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The Taliban in Afghanistan have confirmed the
death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a US drone strike last week and
appointed his successor.
Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, a prominent
religious scholar and deputy to the killed leader, will head the militant
movement, which has been in disarray since its founder, Mullah Omar, was
proclaimed dead last summer.
The swift selection of a new chief follows a
series of meetings in recent days among the core leadership in Quetta,
Pakistan, and is probably an attempt to prevent further rifts in the ranks.
Many commanders saw the selection last summer
of Mansoor – a heavy-handed and divisive figure – as a coup, leading to violent
clashes between factions. Since then, unrest has fomented and caused
unprecedented infighting.
Largely unknown outside the movement,
Haibatullah is a former Taliban chief justice and heads their religious Ulema
council. Compared with Mansoor, he has strong religious credentials, and has
been responsible for issuing fatwas to justify military and terrorist
operations.
Reportedly from the Panjwai district of
Kandahar, Haibatullah is part of the Noorzai tribe and comes from the Taliban’s
spiritual heartland, which gives him clout over southern commanders and could
potentially help him unify discontented factions.
Haibatullah will be watched closely by the
Afghan government and its international partners, who hope he will be amenable
to joining the peace process. His predecessor was targeted, according to the
Pentagon, because he was “an obstacle to peace”.
“Haibatullah 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 shura pledged allegiance to
him,” the group said in a statement.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of a network blamed
for many high-profile bombs attacks in Kabul in recent years, and Mullah
Mohammad Yaqoob, son of former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, will serve as
deputies, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s main spokesman, said in the
statement.
Mansoor was killed in Pakistan on Saturday
when his vehicle was struck by a US drone, believed to be the first time a
Taliban leader was killed in such a way inside Pakistani territory.
The US and Afghan governments said Mansoor
had been an obstacle to a peace process that had ground to a halt when he
refused to participate in talks earlier this year. Instead, he intensified the
war in Afghanistan, now in its 15th year.
Pakistani authorities are believed to support
Taliban leaders in cities over the Afghan border. The insurgents have been
fighting to overthrow the Kabul government since 2001.
Also on Wednesday, amid news of the new
Taliban chief, a suicide bomber struck a bus in Kabul carrying state
prosecutors, killing 10 people and wounding four, according to the Afghan
interior ministry.
Associated Press, Reuters and Agence
France-Presse contributed to this report