Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Pakistani Taliban appoints new chief after previous leader killed in drone strike

Published 23/06/2018, 16:56
Updated 23/06/2018, 17:00
Pakistani Taliban appoints new chief after previous leader killed in drone strike

Pakistani Taliban appoints new chief after previous leader killed in drone strike

By Jibran Ahmad and Saud Mehsud

PESHAWAR/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban named Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud as the new leader on Saturday, a week after the previous chief Mullah Fazlullah was killed in a U.S.-Afghan air strike in Afghanistan, the group's spokesman said.

Fazlullah was killed on June 15 in a strike in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, which is on the Pakistani border.

His killing is likely to ease tensions between the United States and Pakistan, which Washington has blamed for harboring militants who carry out attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies helping the militants.

Tehreek-e-Taliban spokesman Muhammed Khorasani said in a statement it was a matter of pride that all the previous leaders had been martyred, referring to Fazlullah's two predecessors who were also killed in drone strikes.

This was the first time the Taliban had publicly admitted to Fazlullah's death.

Mehsud was appointed deputy leader by Fazlullah in February after the previous second in command Khalid Mehsud was killed in Afghanistan's Paktika province.

The Pakistani Taliban have waged a decade-long insurgency seeking to establish a harsh interpretation of Islamic rule but most of their fighters have now fled to Afghanistan.

They are separate from the Afghan Taliban who ruled Afghanistan for five years before being ousted in a 2001 U.S.-led military intervention.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.