Vorlage:Infobox Officeholder Akhtar Mohammad MansoorVorlage:Pronunciation-needed (born 1963) (also spelled Mansur[1] and Mansour [2]) also called Mullah Mansour, is the leader of the Taliban. According to a statement released by the Taliban on 30 July 2015, the group's founder and previous leader, Mohammed Omar, died in 2013.[3][4][5]
Early life
Mansoor is believed to have been born in a village named Kariz[6] in the Maiwand District of Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, during the 1960s;[4][7] one source gives 1963 as his birth year while another mentions 1965.[6][8] An ethnic Pashtun, he belongs to the Ishaqzai tribe of the Durrani tribal confederacy.[9][6][10]
Soviet war and mujahideen era
He joined the Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi group during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Mohammad Omar was then a commander of one of the groups of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. Mansoor participated in the jihad against the Russians in Maiwand, Sang-e-Hessar, Zangawat and other parts of the city. Known as one of the prominent warriors, Mansoor joined the Maulvi Obaidullah Ishaqzai group in 1987 but later Ishaqzai surrendered to Nur ul-Haq Ulumi, now the interior minister. Soon afterwards, he migrated to Quetta.[8]
After the war, Mansoor resumed his religious education in different seminaries and later shifted to Peshawar where he joined Jamia Mohammadia at the Jalozai Refugee camp.[8] He was a student at Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, which is where Mohammed Omar also studied.[10] He was apparently a popular student, during his time at the madrassa from 1994 to 1995, located within the Jalozai[6] refugee camp for Afghans near Peshawar, Pakistan, according to Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, who met him during that time.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Appointed as a security officer in charge of the Kandahar airport he was soon picked by Mohammed Omar as the Minister of Civil Aviation in the 1996-2001 Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[11]
In 1997, when the Taliban tried unsuccessfully to capture the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Mansoor was captured by an Uzbek warlord. For two months he remained there as a prisoner of war before Mohammed Omar traded him out.[12]
After the conclusion of the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, Akther Masour is reported, by Anand Arni, a former officer with the Indian organisation Research & Analysis Wing, as being seen embracing Maulana Masood Azhar, the then leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed.[13][14]
In 2001, he surrendered to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai to ask for amnesty. He was forgiven after which he returned to his home district. American forces however refusing to believe he and other senior Taliban commanders had given up fighting, conducted a series of night raids to capture him after which he fled to Pakistan where he helped to shape the Taliban as an insurgent organisation.[15]
In a previously secret state communication of the U.S. government in 2006, Akhtar Mansoor was listed as the 23rd member of the Taliban (with the late Mohammed Omar as the first member).[16]
Quetta Shura and Taliban insurgency
According to the Indian Express, Akther Mansour was appointed to the Taliban's Quetta Shura (council for political and military matters and affairs), sometime during 2007, while within Quetta.[13][17]
A source claims to know of Akther Mansour having a "direct influence" over military units operating within Khost, Paktia and Paktika, at a time after his appointment to the Council of the Taliban.[13]
One source gives Mansoor as being appointed deputy to Mohammed Omar during 2010,[11] another source states him to have been "by some accounts" the second most senior member of the Taliban behind Mohammed Omar, during 2010.[18] A contradictory report states his appointment occurred during 2013 after Abdul Ghani Baradar, the then deputy, was jailed.[19]
Wahid Muzhda is quoted as saying in reference to Akther Mansoor:[19]
Vorlage:Quote a fact which is corroborated by an additional report, which states the office was within Doha, Qatar.[17]
In a 2014 report, Akther Mansoor together with Abdul Qayum Zakir and Gul Agha Ishakzai, were said to be fighting over control of a major opium-producing area (land of Maiwand District) against a co-founder of the Taliban movement, Abdul Ghani Baradar.[20][21]
Leader of the Taliban
Akther Mansoor released his first communication as leader of the Taliban on 1 August 2015 as part of a 30 minute video release.[5][22]
Some Taliban sources considered Mansour's selection as leader to be invalid, while other senior Taliban commanders and officials preferred Mohammed Omar's eldest son, Mohammad Yaqoob, to have ascended as leader. Yaqoob was said to have been supported by his uncle, Abdul Manan and former Taliban military chief Abdul Qayyum Zakir. The head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, Tayyab Agha also opposed the selection of Mansour as leader.[23][24] However, a statement allegedly from Zakir denied he had any conflict with Mansour.[25] Yaqoob is known to have publicly rejected the appointment of Akhtar Mansoor.[5][26][27]
The Taliban splinter group Fidai Mahaz claimed Mohammed Omar was assassinated in a coup led by Akhtar Mansour and Gul Agha. The Taliban commander Mansoor Dadullah, brother of former senior commander Dadullah, also claimed that Omar had been assassinated.[28][29][30] Mullah Yaqoob, Omar's eldest son, denied that his father had been killed, insisting that he died of natural causes.[31]
On 13 August 2015, al-Qaeda's media wing As-Sahab issued a pledge of allegiance from Ayman al-Zawahiri to Akhtar Mansour.[32]
See also
References
- ↑ Robert L. Grenier - 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary Simon and Schuster 27 Jan 2015, 464 pages, ISBN 1476712077 [Retrieved 2015-08-04](previously sourced here)
- ↑ Jibran Ahmad (Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni in Kabul, Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Birsel) - New Taliban leader facing tension as top official quits Reuters and re-published by Yahoo [Retrieved 2015-08-04]
- ↑ Taliban elects new leader after Mohammed Omar's death. AlJazeera, 30. Juli 2015, abgerufen am 30. Juli 2015.
- ↑ a b Mullah Omar: Taliban choose deputy Mansour as successor. In: BBC. 31. Juli 2015, abgerufen am 31. Juli 2015.
- ↑ a b c AP: News - World:Middle East. SUNDAY 02 AUGUST 2015 (independent.co.uk [abgerufen am 2. August 2015]).
- ↑ a b c d Shereena Qazi: POLITICS. published by Al Jazeera Media Network 03 Aug 2015 19:16 GMT (aljazeera.com [abgerufen am 3. August 2015]).(corroborates: Jalozai, Ishaqzai tribe,
- ↑ Dam, Bette. "Mullah Akhtar Mansoor: Taliban's New Leader Has a Reputation for Moderation." The Guardian. July 30, 2015. Accessed July 31, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Biography of new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. In: Pajhwok. 31. Juli 2015, abgerufen im August 2015.
- ↑ Referenzfehler: Ungültiges
<ref>-Tag; kein Text angegeben für Einzelnachweis mit dem Namen telegraph.co.uk. - ↑ a b Robert Crilly, (New York), and Ali M Latifi, (Kandahar): Profile: Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. published by Telegraph Media Group Limited 30 Jul 2015 (telegraph.co.uk [abgerufen am 2. August 2015]).
- ↑ a b MATTHEW ROSENBERG: News Analysis. The New York Times Company December 28, 2014 (nytimes.com [abgerufen am 30. Juli 2015]).
- ↑ Sami Yousafzai: Up Close With the Taliban’s Next King. In: The Daily Beast. 31. Juli 2015, abgerufen am 31. Juli 2015.
- ↑ a b c The Indian Express: Indian intelligence officials allege Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the newly-appointed chief of the Afghan Taliban, might possibly have played a role in the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 during 1999. The Indian Express [P] Ltd (indianexpress.com [abgerufen am 3. August 2015]).
- ↑ IC-814 hijacking: New Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour escorted Maulana Masood Azhar, says Ex-RAW officer. In: The Indian Express. 3. August 2015, abgerufen am 6. August 2015.
- ↑ Bette Dam: Mullah Akhtar Mansoor: Taliban's new leader has reputation for moderation. In: The Guardian. Scott Trust Limited, 1. August 2015, abgerufen am 2. August 2015.
- ↑ FM Secretary of the State (Washington): SECRET COMMUNICATION (now unclassified) - p.131. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE REVIEW AUTHORITY 14 Dec 2006 (gwu.edu [PDF; abgerufen am 5. August 2015]).
- ↑ a b Orlando Crowcroft: Society - Politics. IBTimes Co., Ltd July 30, 2015 (ibtimes.co.uk [abgerufen am 4. August 2015]).
- ↑ DEXTER FILKINS and CARLOTTA GALL - Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor published originally by The New York Times November 22, 2010 (re-published by Afghanhistan News Centre (Ruhullah Khapalwak) [Retrieved 2015-08-04]
- ↑ a b Masood Saifullah: AFGHANISTAN. published by Deutsche Welle 31.07.2015 (dw.com [abgerufen am 2. August 2015]).(ref. inc. - amir)
- ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24185441
- ↑ Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team: 4th report (S/2014/402). United Nations Security Council 10 June 2014 (securitycouncilreport.org [PDF; abgerufen am 5. August 2015]).(page 12)
- ↑ AFP (Sky News) - News - World: Middle East published by Telstra Media 1 August 2015 [Retrieved 2015-08-02]
- ↑ New Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour calls for unity. In: BBC News. Abgerufen am 6. August 2015.
- ↑ Mullah Omar: the one-eyed man who was king. In: The Economist. 30. Juli 2015, abgerufen im August 2015.
- ↑ Taliban leaders dispute appointment of Mullah Mansoor. In: al-Jazeera. 4. August 2015, abgerufen am 22. August 2015.
- ↑ Taliban political chief in Qatar Tayyab Agha resigns. In: BBC. 4. August 2015, abgerufen am 22. August 2015.
- ↑ Exclusive: Walkout at Taliban leadership meeting raises specter of split. In: Reuters. 31. Juli 2015, abgerufen am 22. August 2015.
- ↑ Pakistan exposed Mullah Omar’s death for its own interests: Kandahar clerics. In: Khaama Press. 18. August 2015, abgerufen am 22. August 2015.
- ↑ Mullah Omar: a myth of convenience. In: The Hindu. 20. August 2015, abgerufen am 22. August 2015.
- ↑ Why the Taliban murdered their own leader and the terrifying fallout now threatening the West. In: The Mirror. 21. August 2015, abgerufen am 22. August 2015.
- ↑ Taliban's Mullah Omar died of natural causes in Afghanistan, son says. In: Reuters. 14. September 2015, abgerufen am 30. September 2015.
- ↑ Al-Qaeda's Zawahiri pledges loyalty to new Taliban chief. In: BBC. Abgerufen am 13. August 2015.