Washnigton Post: Former Head Of The Afghan Taliban Was Coming Back From Dubai When He Was Killed In Pakistan By A U.S. Drone Strike

Former head of Afghan Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansour was coming back from Dubai after shopping when was killed in Pakistan, reports Washington Post

Stars and Stripes/Washington Post: Did the US kill a negotiating partner or a fervent foe?

Monitoring Desk: US Based Washington Post has reported that former head of Afghan Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was coming back from Dubai after shopping and having fundraising meetings via Iran when he was killed in a drone strike in Balochistan province of Pakistan.

An article published in Washington Post dated March 24, 2018 titled “A Dubai shopping trip and a missed chance to capture the head of the Taliban” written by Greg Jaffe and Missy Ryan claims that in the spring of 2016 senior officials at the White House learned that the head of the Taliban had turned up in Dubai for a few days of shopping and fundraising.

Read more ....

Update: Former head of Afghan Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansour was coming back from Dubai when was killed in Pakistan, reports Washington Post (Dispatch News)

Previous Post: Shocking New Details Emerge From Slain Taliban Leader Mullah Monsoor's Passport Information And Travel History (May 29, 2016).

WNU Editor: This is a must read article .... providing details on the killing of Afghan Taliban leader Mansour that have been unknown until now. The only question that still remains unanswered is .... why did President Obama order the assassination of the first (and only) Taliban leader who has ever engaged in talks with U.S. and Afghan officials.

Shocking New Details Emerge From Slain Taliban Leader Mullah Monsoor's Passport Information And Travel History

Last time, Wali Muhammad toured Iran twice via road.

Dunya News: Dunya News obtains Wali Muhammad's travel details

QUETTA (Web Desk) – Wali Muhammad, a person who was killed in a suspected US drone attack on a car in Nushki on Saturday, had travelled 18 times broad between 2006 and 2016, documents obtained by Dunya News revealed on Monday.

Wali first left for Iran’s Taftan on 18 February 2016 and returned to Pakistan on March 10. Then again he visited Taftan on 25 April 2016 and returned on May 21.

He travelled through Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport 15 times and once from Quetta airport. Wali Muhammad traveled to Dubai via Emirates, Gulf, Shaheen, United Airline, PIA and Iran Air.

Last time, he toured Iran twice via road.

The details emerge two days after the Afghan authorities claimed that the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in a remote part of southwest Pakistan.

Read more ....

Update #1: Mullah Mansour or Muhammad Wali: Fake name but genuine credentials on CNIC (Express Tribune)
Update #2: Mystery continues to shroud identity of Muhammad Wali -- The Nation

WNU editor: Besides a passport, a Pakistani ident card was also retrieved from the body (see here). Is it him .... looking at his passport and looking at a known picture of him .... I would have to say yes .... it is Taliban leader Mullah Monsoor. But the case now gets interesting ... starting with Pakistani Passport records showing that he had travelled abroad extensively .... Dubai being his destination of choice. To say that I have a hundred and one questions is an understatement. Top of my list .... who approved his passport? How did he get his Pakistan ident card? Why (and who) was he meeting in Dubai constantly? What are the personal details in his passport application .... like where did he live, who sponsored him, and who to notify in case something happened to him? Did he have bank accounts? How did he earn his living (officially)? did he file his taxes? As I said .... I have a hundred and one questions .... but no one is answering.

Somewhat related .... but it is an even bigger question .... and one that has been bugging me for a long time .... what happened to Osama Bin Laden's personal documents, passport, ident card, etc.? After he was killed by US special forces .... they ransacked his home .... taking everything but the kitchen sink with them when they left. Osama bin Laden had to have personal documents .... so what did they revealed? What pictures did he use? Did he travel? Did he have a bank card. As I said .... I have a hundred and one questions .... but no one is answering.

I take that back .... no one is even asking the questions.

What Was Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Doing In Iran?

Man believed to be Akhtar Mansoor is seen in undated photo. CBS

Michael Kugelman, Foreign Policy: What Was Mullah Mansour Doing in Iran?

In the wake of the Taliban leader’s death, we’re only now coming to understand just how ties between Tehran and the Taliban are evolving.

On May 21, after a drone strike obliterated a car and its two occupants in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, local officials discovered a Pakistani passport, miraculously intact, amid the smoldering wreckage and two bodies charred beyond recognition. The passport belonged to a man identified as Wali Muhammad. Its photo bore an uncanny resemblance to Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban targeted by the drone strike, who lay dead close by. According to reports in the Pakistani press, the passport indicated that its owner, presumably Mullah Mansour, had been returning from Iran, where he had been since April 26. He had also traveled there for several weeks in February and March.

Read more ....

WNU editor: What I find interesting about this story is that his passport survived the drone strike .... Dunya News obtains Wali Muhammad's travel details (Dunya news). As to the question on why was he in Iran .... there is more to this story than what they are telling us, and we will not know the truth (if ever) anytime soon.

Who Sold Out AfghanTaliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor?

Pakistani local residents gather around a burning vehicle hit by a U.S. drone strike, May 21, 2016. Afghan Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was the target of the drone near Dalbandin, Baluchistan, Pakistan.

VOA: Who Gave Info that Led to Drone Strike on Taliban Leader?

WASHINGTON — Days after a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan, near the Afghan border, killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, it remains unclear how the slain leader’s location was discovered.

Mansoor was killed in a remote part of Baluchistan, a province that has been thought off limits for U.S. drones, which operate in the northwestern tribal areas.

However, U.S. officials say the strike does not signal a change in American strategy or an expansion of the CIA’s decade-long drone campaign targeting terrorists inside Pakistan's northwestern tribal areas.

“This was a target of opportunity,” one U.S. official said who declined to be identified when speaking on background. “It does not suggest that we were changing our strategy.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Someone gave the lead to the U.S. to conduct this drone strike .... but who and how .... the fact that no details on what lead to this drone strike have been released tells me that there is more to this story than what is revealed .... and here is an easy prediction .... the U.S. is not going to reveal how they knew that Mullah Mansoor was in that car on that street and at that time of day.

Why Did President Obama Order The Assassination of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour

Dan De Luce and John Hudson, Chicago Tribune/Foreign Policy: Obama rolls the dice with killing of Taliban chief

The Obama administration's decision to kill Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in his Pakistani sanctuary signals that the White House has given up on peace talks for the moment and is willing to roll the dice on trying to undercut the insurgency by decapitating its leadership.

The operation represented a break in the administration's approach to the war, as it had never launched a concerted effort to take out Taliban leaders based in Pakistan despite repeated pleas from Washington's allies in the Afghan government.

But with efforts to kick-start peace negotiations going nowhere and the Taliban not even bothering to show up for talks, President Barack Obama gave the green light for the U.S. military to launch its first-ever drone strike in the anarchic Pakistani region of Baluchistan. The rhetoric the U.S. Defense Department used to explain the strike was notable in its emphasis on the Taliban's chief diplomatic role rather than his military one: "Mansour has been an obstacle to peace and reconciliation between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban, prohibiting Taliban leaders from participating in peace talks with the Afghan government."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I do not understand what is the Obama administration's end game by launching this drone strike. But if I was to guess .... it is to help precipitate a power struggle (and battle) within the Taliban itself on who would replace Mullah Mansour, and this internal battle would then divert attention and resources away from the war in Afghanistan itself.

More Details Revealed On How The U.S. Tracked And Killed Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour

FOX News: Afghan Taliban leader reportedly was in Iran hours before US strike killed him

The leader of the Afghan Taliban who was killed in a U.S. airstrike over the weekend reportedly visited Iran just hours before his death.

Mullah Akhtar Mansour, an Afghan citizen, was carrying a Pakistani passport when he entered the country Saturday at the Taftan transit point in western Pakistan, a popular crossing for cargo trucks, VOA news reports.

The passport reportedly had the name Wali Muhammad on it, but also had Mansour’s photo.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Mansour was in Iran, but five hours after he crossed the border, he was killed in the drone strike while traveling to Quetta, officials said.

Read more ....

Update: How the U.S. Tracked and Killed the Leader of the Taliban -- WSJ

WNU Editor: The Iranian connection is interesting.

Fall-Out From the Assassination Of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour

Mark Landler and Matthew Rosenberg, New York Times: U.S. Strike on Taliban Leader Is Seen as a Message to Pakistan

WASHINGTON — Early on Saturday, a middle-aged Pashtun man used forged documents to cross from Iran into Pakistan. A few hours later, on a lonely stretch of highway, he was incinerated by an American drone.

It is not exactly clear how the Americans tracked Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, leader of the Afghan Taliban, to a white sedan rattling across the arid expanse of Baluchistan Province. The United States picked up a mix of phone intercepts and tips from sources, American and European officials said, and there were reports that Pakistan also provided intelligence. President Obama described Mullah Mansour’s death on Monday as an “important milestone” — but the strike was also an illustration of the tangled relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

Not since Mr. Obama ordered Navy SEALs to hunt down Osama bin Laden in May 2011 has he authorized a military incursion in Pakistan as audacious as this one. The White House did not inform the Pakistanis in advance of the operation, which occurred outside the frontier region near Afghanistan, the one place where Pakistan has tolerated American drone strikes in the past.

Read more ....

More News And Commentary On The Fall-Out From the Assassination Of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour

Obama calls Taliban leader's death a 'milestone' for Afghanistan -- FOX News
Taliban infighting likely, experts say, with Mullah Mansour dead -- Market Watch
Afghanistan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s death widens cracks in fragmented group -- India.com
Senior Taliban figure says death of leader could unify group -- AP
US General in Afghanistan: Mansour Was an Obstacle to Peace -- AP
US Official Tells VOA Mansoor Death Will Have 'Little Battlefield Impact' -- VOA
The Coming Changes to the Afghan War -- Paul D. Shinkman, US News and World Report
Why the US Killed Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Pakistan—and Why It Matters -- Newsweek/Reuters
With Mullah Mansour Out of the Picture, Is Peace Near for Afghanistan -- The Diplomat
Mansour's Death Shocks the Taliban and Pakistan -- Ashish Kumar Sen, Newsweek
After Taliban leader's assassination, where do Afghan peace talks stand? -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN
Has the U.S. Finally Run Out of Patience With Pakistan? -- Isaac Chotiner, Slate
Big security decision facing the next president -- Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst

The U.S. Drone Strike Against Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Crossed A Number Of 'Red Lines'

Kathy Gilsinan, The Atlantic: The Drone War Crosses Another Line

America took an unprecedented step over the weekend.

Following the death of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in an American drone strike in Pakistan on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry remarked that “Peace is what we want” in Afghanistan. “Mansour,” he said, “was a threat to that effort.” Confirming Mansour’s death on Monday, President Barack Obama said the Taliban’s chief, who had held the position officially for less than a year, had “rejected efforts by the Afghan government to seriously engage in peace talks and end the violence that has taken the lives of countless innocent Afghan men, women and children.”

The strike that killed Mansour crossed numerous lines that have constrained America’s fight with the Taliban, and its drone war in Pakistan, up to this point. It was remarkable for its location and timing, as well as the public acknowledgment that accompanied it. Mansour was reportedly killed while traveling in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, where much of the Taliban’s leadership has been based since being driven out of Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Read more ....

Update: US targeted Taliban emir Mullah Mansour in unprecedented Pakistan drone strike (Long War Journal).

Previous Post: A Shift In U.S. Strategy In the Afghan War

WNU Editor: The war has shifted in Afghanistan in the past two years .... the Taliban are winning .... so (of course) the U.S.-Afghan war strategy is changing. I am just surprised that Taliban leader Mansour did not take more precautions for his safety .... either he was betrayed and targeted, or he believed (or was told) that he was immune from any U.S. strike. Either way .... a new reality is now emerging in this war .... and I would not be surprised if the Taliban AND certain elements within the Pakistan government and its intelligence agencies are worried on what will the U.S. do next, and who else is on the CIA kill list that is being tracked right now.

Afghan Intelligence Confirms Reports That A U.S. Drone Killed The Afghan Taliban Leader in Pakistan

VOA: Afghan Intelligence: Afghan Taliban Leader Killed in US Drone Strike

ISLAMABAD/PENTAGON — The Afghan intelligence agency NDS confirmed that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan near the Afghan border.

A brief NDS statement released Sunday on its official Twitter and Facebook accounts said, “Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in the airstrike yesterday at 3:45 p.m. in Dalbandin, Baluchistan.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday during a visit to Myanmar that Mansoor was targeted because he posed "an imminent threat to U.S. personnel, Afghan civilians and Afghan security forces," and that Mansoor "was directly opposed to peace negotiations."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Apparently the body has been retrieved.

More News On Afghan Intelligence Confirming Reports That A U.S. Drone Killed The Afghan Taliban Leader in Pakistan

Afghan Intelligence Says U.S. Drone Killed Taliban Leader in Pakistan -- NYT
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour killed, Afghans confirm -- BBC
Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor Is Dead -- NBC News
U.S. drone kills latest Taliban leader in Pakistan -- AP
Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Killed in U.S. Drone Strike -- Time
Taliban Leader Mansour Died in Drone Strike, Afghan Agency Says -- Bloomberg
Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour Killed In US Drone Strike, Afghanistan Confirms -- IBTimes
Taliban chief Mansour killed in US drone strike – Afghan officials -- RT
Afghan Taliban's Mullah Mansoor 'killed in US strike' -- Al Jazeera
Mansour's death a blow to Taliban:Abdullah -- Reuters
A look at deadly attacks carried out under Mullah Mansour -- AP
Mansour's brief reign as chief marked by turmoil -- AP

U.S. Oficials Are Claiming That Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Has Been Killed In A U.S. Air Strike

CNN: Taliban leader Mullah Mansour likely killed in airstrike, U.S. officials say

Washington (CNN)Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was likely killed in an airstrike in Pakistan on Saturday, two U.S. officials told CNN.

One of the officials said the strike occurred around 6 a.m. ET Saturday morning in a remote area of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal.
Mansour was the target of the strike, and a second adult male combatant traveling with him in a vehicle also was likely killed, the official added.

U.S. officials are still assessing the results, the official said. The second source, a senior administration official, said it would likely take days to get "physical confirmation" because of the remote location.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Apparently multiple air strikes were launched .... which tells me that whoever the U.S. was targeting .... they wanted to make sure that no one survived.

Update: The Taliban are now denying reports that their leader is dead .... Taliban denies leader killed in US drone strike (Al Jazeera).

More News On Reports That Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Has Been Killed In A U.S. Air Strike

US targeted Taliban emir Mullah Mansour in unprecedented Pakistan drone strike -- Long War Journal
U.S. targets Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in airstrike -- AP
Taliban leader Mansour 'likely killed' in US drone strike -- AFP
Afghan Taliban leader likely killed in U.S. drone strike in Pakistan -- Reuters
Afghan Taliban leader Mansour 'probably killed' in US air strike -- BBC
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour believed killed in US airstrike -- ABC News Online
Taliban Leader Mansour Likely Killed in U.S. Airstrike, Officials Say -- WSJ
Drone strike likely kills Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour -- UPI
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour 'most likely killed' in drone attack, US defence sources say -- The Telegraph
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor believed killed in US drone strike -- The Guardian
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour 'likely killed' by US air strike -- The Independent
BREAKING NEWS: Head of the Taliban in Afghanistan 'likely killed after US airstrike' -- Daily Mail
Pentagon: US airstrike targets Taliban leader Mullah Mansour -- US News and World Report
Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour Targeted By US Military Airstrike -- IBTimes
The US Just Tried to Kill the Leader of the Taliban With an Airstrike -- VICE News

Fate Of Afghan Taliban Leader Remains Unclear After Reports Of Him Being Injured In A Gunbattle

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, Taliban militants' new leader, is seen in this undated handout photograph by the Taliban. Unconfirmed reports suggest the leader was killed in a shootout in Quetta.

VOA: Unconfirmed Reports of Afghan Taliban Leader’s Death

ISLAMABAD—The fate of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour remained unclear Friday, two days after Afghan authorities alleged he was wounded in a gunfight during a meeting of militant commanders in neighboring Pakistan.

“Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour died of injuries,” Sultan Faizy, a spokesman for the first vice president of Afghanistan said in a Twitter post late Thursday.

Faizy informed media, including VOA, on Wednesday about the alleged firefight that he said took place near the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Tuesday.

WNU Editor: Apparently he was shot 4 times. Taliban officials are denying these reports .... Taliban Say They Will Release Recording of Leader to Prove He Is Alive (NYT).

Previous Post: Report: Afghan Taliban Leader Wounded In Gun Fight In Pakistan

More News On Reports That Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour Has Died From His Injuries

Fate of Afghan Taliban leader unclear after reports say he was wounded or killed -- Reuters
Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Mansour Dies of Injuries -- Sputnik
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour dies from gunfight injuries in Pakistan: reports -- IBTimes
Afghanistan confirms Taliban chief's death, group denies -- Business Standard
Conflicting Reports over Taliban Chief Mullah Mansour’s Death -- Al Manar
New leader of Afghan Taliban may have been shot in Pakistan, Afghan officials say -- Miami Herald/Washington Post
Afghanistan Seeks News On Fate Of Taliban Chief -- RFE

Report: Afghan Taliban Leader Wounded In Gun Fight In Pakistan

Mullah Mansour took over in July after the death of Mullah Omar was confirmed. Reuters

BBC: Afghan Taliban leader Mansour 'wounded in gunfight'

Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour has been wounded in a gunfight at a meeting of militants in the Pakistani city of Quetta, reports say.

A source close to the Taliban told the BBC that shots were fired after an argument at the meeting, killing four people and seriously wounding Mansour.

The Taliban's spokesman denied that the firefight took place.

Mullah Mansour's appointment prompted splits in the Taliban after its founder Mullah Omar's death emerged in July.

A number of senior Taliban commanders refused to pledge allegiance to him and a faction opposed to him was set up last month under Mullah Mohammad Rasool.
It is not confirmed if the splinter faction were behind the attack.

The source close to the Taliban said the firing seemed to be spontaneous rather than planned.

Update #1: Taliban leader Mullah Mansour wounded in shootout-sources (Reuters)
Update #2: Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour injured in firefight: officials (AFP)

WNU Editor: This is a breaking news story. More details will be posted when it becomes available.

More Details On The Afghan Taliban Leader Are Emerging

Photo: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the new leader of the Taliban, in an undated photo. Credit Reuters

New York Times: Taliban’s New Leader Strengthens His Hold With Intrigue and Battlefield Victory

KABUL, Afghanistan — If ever there was a Taliban bureaucrat who seemed set on a less than stellar career path, it was Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour.

In the 1990s, he was the Taliban government’s chief of aviation while Afghanistan had few planes in the air. He also oversaw the tourism department for what was one of the world’s most sealed-off countries at the time.

In short, there was little hint back then that he would someday emerge as the Taliban’s supreme commander, and the successor to the group’s legendary founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar.

But in the years since the Taliban leadership was driven into exile in Pakistan in 2001, Mullah Mansour became central to the group’s reincarnation as a powerful insurgency that survived NATO offensives to pose a grave threat now to the Western-backed Afghan government.

WNU Editor: This New York Times post reveals a lot of news and info on Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar that has not been previously disclosed. The Afghan Taliban leader apparently owns a cell-phone company?!?!?!?! He has a home in the United Arab Emirates that he visits frequently?!?!?!?! He is protected by plain-clothes security officials in Pakistan?!?!?!?! There is more on this Taliban leader .... take the time and read the entire post.

New Afghan Taliban Leader Appeals For Unity. Vows To Continue The War

Photo: Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, Taliban militants' new leader, is seen in this undated handout photograph by the Taliban. REUTERS/TALIBAN HANDOUT/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS

Reuters: New Afghan Taliban leader appeals for unity in first public message

The new Afghan Taliban leader appealed for unity in the insurgency in his first public message released on Saturday amid reports his predecessor's family members opposed his selection.

The new head, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, was deputy for several years to the elusive one-eyed former leader Mullah Omar, who served as a unifying figure and a spiritual guide for the insurgency despite his absence.

This week the Taliban confirmed Omar had been dead for some time. The Afghan government said it was more than two years.

WNU Editor: The new Taliban leadership want to dispel rumors like this one .... Exclusive: Walkout at Taliban leadership meeting raises specter of split (Reuters).

More News On Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour Appealing For Unity While Vowing To Continue The War

New Afghan Taliban leader appeals for unity among fighters in audio message -- The Telegraph
New Taliban Leader Says Insurgency Will Continue -- VOA
New Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour calls for unity -- BBC
New Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor vows to fight on -- Deutsche Welle

Taliban Fighters 'Worried And Confused' After Death Of Leader

The Independent: Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor: Taliban fighters 'worried and confused' after death of leader

The Afghan Taliban has sought to quell divisions within the group following confirmation of the death of its former leader.

A statement released by the group on Friday described Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as one of the most “trusted” associates of the late leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

According to the group, Mansoor had been an “active director” of jihad for at least three years and had been serving as Omar’s deputy before he died.

WNU Editor: The war will go on .... the Taliban military commanders have made that very clear .... but the announcement of Mullah Omar's death is a major hit to the rank and file in the Taliban, and the real battle will now be on the political level, and who will represent the Taliban on this level. On a side note .... the big winners will be the Islamic State .... A Leaderless Taliban Benefits Islamic State (Eli Lake & Josh Rogin, Bloomberg).

With The Death Of Mullah Omar Will The Taliban Now Split Apart?

The Tolonews website runs a story on its front page reporting about news of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in Kabul May 23, 2011. REUTERS/AHMAD MASOOD/FILES

Reuters: Exclusive: Walkout at Taliban leadership meeting raises specter of split

At the Taliban meeting this week where Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was named as the Islamist militant group's new head, several senior figures in the movement, including the son and brother of late leader Mullah Omar, walked out in protest.

The display of dissent within the group's secretive core is the clearest sign yet of the challenge Mansour faces in uniting a group already split over whether to pursue peace talks with the Afghan government and facing a new, external threat - Islamic State.

Rifts in the Taliban leadership are likely to widen after confirmation this week of the death of elusive founder Omar.

Mansour, Omar's longtime deputy who has been effectively in charge for years, favors talks to bring an end to more than 13 years of war. He recently sent a delegation to inaugural meetings with Afghan officials hosted by Pakistan, hailed as a breakthrough.

Update #1: Top Omar Aide Says New Taliban Leader Faced Opposition -- Radio Free Europe
Update #2: News Analysis: Mullah Omar's death may split Taliban's ranks -- Xinhua

WNU Editor: The new leader of the Taliban kept the death of Mullah Omar secret for two years .... if he had felt comfortable in his leadership position he would have made this announcement within days if not weeks after he learned of his death. He choose not to .... which tells me that he knew that he would be facing opposition to his leadership role in the Taliban, hence the deception. Now that the secret is out of the bag, he is facing opposition. Will this opposition be enough to have him replaced .... we shall see.

Who Is Mullah Akhtar Mansoor The New Leader Of The Taliban

Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, the newly named chief of the Taliban

Sami Yousafzai, Daily Beast: Up Close With the Taliban’s Next King

Over the last 21 years I’ve had many encounters with the man who will now head the Afghan Taliban fighting the U.S.-backed government in Kabul. What lies behind his dark glasses?

The first time I met Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, the new leader of the Afghan Taliban, was in 1994, as the movement was just taking shape and before he’d decided to join. He came to my father’s Islamic bookshop in the Jalozai refugee camp for Afghans near Peshawar, Pakistan. He was about 25, appeared serious and was not so slender as the other students with him. He wore a big shalwar kamiz, the typical Pashtun clothing, and he wore sunglasses which was not really typical at all. In this part of the world, people like to see each other’s eyes.

This was the same man, you will recall, who hid the death of the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, for more than a year. But of course that was much later.

More News On Mullah Akhtar Mansoor The New Leader Of The Taliban

Taliban leader: Who is Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor? -- AP
Mullah Akhtar Mansoor: Taliban's new leader has a reputation for moderation -- The Guardian
Who is 'new Taliban leader' Mullah Akhtar Mansoor? -- The Telegraph
Afghanistan: Who is new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour? -- IBTimes
Who is Mullah Akhtar Mansoor? -- Ary News
Mullah Mansoor: A look at the new leader of Taliban -- Times of India
Q&A: A Look at the New Leader of Afghanistan's Taliban -- AP