Taliban insurgents say that the family of late Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has announced their support for Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as his successor.
A statement posted on the Taliban’s website on Tuesday said that Mullah Omar’s brother, Mullah Abdul Manan, and eldest son, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoub, declared their support for Mansour’s leadership in a gathering of senior Taliban officials. Manan confirmed to The Associated Press that he and Yaqoub are now pledging their alliance to Mansour; the pair, along with several other senior Taliban commanders, initially rejected Mansour’s ascension.