New Delhi: The Afghan Taliban today announced a new leader to replace former chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour who was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan's Balochistan province last week.
In an online statement, the Taliban acknowledged Mansour's death for the first time and named Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada as his successor.
Akhundzada was unanimously voted by the leadership council members, it said.
"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 Taliban said in a statement.
Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, a religious scholar and former head of the Taliban courts, was one of the Afghan Taliban's deputy leaders.
The statement further added that leader of Haqqani terrorist network, Sirajuddin Haqqani and late Taliban chief Mullah Omar's son Mullah Yaqoob were appointed as deputy supreme leader of the group.
Earlier reports suggested that Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob were the possible successor of Mullah Mansoor.
It also said that the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour will not have any affect on the group's insurgency.
Mansour was killed in a strike on his car in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Saturday. He took over the militant group in July 2015, replacing Taliban founder and spiritual head Mullah Mohammad Omar.
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