Alwaght- Haibatullah Akhundzada was appointed as the new leader of Taliban following the death of the former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in a US drone strike last week.
"The council... decided to appoint Haibatullah Akhundzada as the new leader of Taliban and Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mohammad Yaqoob as his deputies," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Wednesday.
Haibatullah previously served as a deputy to Mansour and was a former head of the Taliban’s “judiciary.”
Sirajuddin Haqqani was the head of a network responsible for a series of powerful bomb attacks across Kabul in recent years and Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob is the son of founder Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The news about Mullah Mansour’s death came amid reports that splinter groups within the Taliban were refusing to pledge allegiance to him.
There have also been growing differences among Taliban elements over peace talks with the Afghan government, with some vowing to fight for power instead of taking part in negotiations.
Mansour took over the Taliban’s leadership position in July 2015, replacing its founder and spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who died in 2013. Notably, the Taliban only confirmed Omar's death in 2015.
Mansour first joined the Taliban in 1995. Previous reports said he was killed in a battle last year, though those were denied by the Afghan government.
