New Afghanistan Taliban leader promises to continue insurgency

The new leader of the Afghan Taliban vowed to continue his group’s bloody, nearly 14-year insurgency in an audio message released Saturday, urging his fighters to remain unified after the death of their longtime leader.

 

The audio message purportedly from Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor also included comments about the Taliban’s nascent peace talks with the Afghan government, though it wasn’t immediately clear whether he supported them or not.

 

Mansoor took over the Taliban after the group on Thursday confirmed that former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had died and said they elected Mansoor as his successor. The Afghan government announced Wednesday that the reclusive mullah had been dead since April 2013; the Taliban has remained vague on exactly when Mullah Omar died.

 

“We should keep our unity, we must be united, our enemy will be happy in our separation,” Mansoor purportedly said in the message. “This is a big responsibility for us. This is not the work of one, two or three people. This is all our responsibility to carry on jihad until we establish the Islamic state.”

 

Read More: New Afghanistan Taliban leader promises to continue insurgency | Fox News