Afghan Taliban sources confirm death of chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour

Mansour’s death was confirmed by two other senior figures, who said the group’s top leaders were gathering in southwest Pakistan to name their future chief.

Senior Afghan Taliban sources confirmed the death of their chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a US drone strike, adding that a council is underway to decide his successor.

This photograph taken on Saturday shows Pakistani local residents gathering around a destroyed vehicle hit by a drone strike in which Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour was believed to be travelling in the remote town of Ahmad Wal in Balochistan, around 160 km west of Quetta. (AFP)

“I can say with good authority that Mullah Mansour is no more,” a senior Taliban source told AFP.

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Mansour’s death was confirmed by two other senior figures, who said the group’s top leaders were gathering in southwest Pakistan to name their future chief.

“Mullah Zakir, Mullah Shireen and Siraj Haqqani are strong candidates,” one of the sources told AFP.

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Another Taliban source confirmed Haqqani, leader of the feared Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network and one of Mansour’s deputies, was a frontrunner, adding that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was also in contention.