On Wednesday, the Afghan Taliban confirmed the death of its leader, Mullah Akthar Mansour, killed in a U.S. drone strike, and named his replacement, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada. The statement was the Taliban's first confirmation of Mansour's death. Akhundzada, a Mansour deputy believed to be 45 to 50 years old, is the former chief of the Taliban courts and is considered more of a religious scholar than military commander; he is responsible for most of the fatwas, or religious edicts, from the Taliban. "Haibatullah Akhundzada has been appointed as the new leader of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) after a unanimous agreement in the shura," or supreme council, the Taliban said, "and all the members of shura pledged allegiance to him."
Akhundzada was not considered a front-runner to replace Mansour, The New York Times reports, especially since another Mansour deputy, Sarajuddin Haqqani, had been running the day-to-day military operations for the Taliban. But the Taliban leaders meeting in Quetta, Pakistan, apparently wanted a lower-profile consensus candidate, recalling that former Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar's reclusiveness kept him alive for many years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: 'a rare treat indeed'The Week Recommends The Roadster version of Aston Martin's new Vantage coupé makes even 'the most mundane journey feel special'
-
Bad Friend: Tiffany Watt Smith explores why women abandon friendshipsThe Week Recommends A 'deeply researched' account of female friendship through history
-
Brazil's reborn dolls crazeUnder The Radar The 'hyper-realistic' babies soaring in popularity in South American nation have spawned controversy
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
