KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A senior Taliban figure resigned Tuesday in the latest fallout from the death of longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, which has triggered a succession dispute and revealed growing rifts within the two-decade-old Afghan insurgent group.
Mohammad Tayab Agha, head of the Taliban’s political office, said in a statement that the movement had made a “historic mistake” by concealing Mullah Omar’s death and by choosing his successor outside of Afghanistan. The Taliban confirmed Mullah Omar’s death last week after Afghan authorities said he had died in a Pakistani hospital more than two years ago.
Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who had served as Mullah Omar’s deputy, was chosen to succeed him by the group’s seven-member Supreme Council, meeting in the Pakistani city of Quetta.