Taliban elects new leader after Mullah Omar’s death
THE Taliban has elected Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as its new leader, Taliban sources have told Al Jazeera, as the group confirmed the death of their founder, Mullah Omar.
The election, which was reported yesterday, has not been officially confirmed by the Taliban. But a commander present at the meeting to elect Mansoor confirmed the report.
Reports said the election was held in Pakistan’s city of Quetta.
The news comes as a Taliban representative and the group’s Twitter account confirmed the death of Omar Mullah. However, the group refused to give information where and when Omar had died.
Mansoor will be only the second leader the Taliban have had since Omar, an elusive figure rarely seen in public who founded the group in the 1990s.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, a journalist who covered the Taliban for years said the way Mansoor’s election was announced, “it is obvious that it is true.”
Mansoor is a “key figure” in the Taliban organisation, serving as the governor of Kandahar before the American invasion, he said.
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1 Comments
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