Afghan Biographies

Mansoor, Akhtar Mohammed Mullah killed 21 May 2016


Name Mansoor, Akhtar Mohammed Mullah killed 21 May 2016
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1960
Function/Grade Taliban Leader
History and Biodata

2. Previous Functions:
Minister of Civil Aviation during Taliban time (1996-2001)
in charge of the Taliban political and military affairs in the Supreme Council in Quetta
Taliban Shadow 'Governor' of Kandahar as of May 2007
Successor Mullah Omar (20150729)
3. Biodata:
Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Mansoor Mansur Mansour Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, former Taliban minister of civil aviation and tourism, was born 1960 in Kandahar Province. He hails from the Pashtun Ishaqzai tribe. Other sources state that he was born in 1968 in Band-i-Taimoor village Temor village of Maiwand District of southern Kandahar province.
Other Places of Birth are KALANKO JOWZJAN Province, ZURMAT DISTRICT, PAKTIA PROVINCE. (also SHAH MOHAMMED AKHTAR MOHAMMAD MANSOUR AKHTAR MOHAMMAD MANSOOR , AKHTAR MOHAMMAD MANSOUR KHAN MUHAMMAD , AKHTAR MUHAMMAD MANSOOR) He repatriated to Afghanistan in September 2006 and is a member of the 18-member Taliban leadership or supreme council ("Rahbari Shura"). Active in the provinces of Khost, Paktia and Paktika, Afghanistan as of May 2007.

Physical description: Strong and chubby. Involved in drug trafficking. Mullah Akhtar Mohammed has been directly involved in the planning of attacks against district centres and the coordination of suicide bombers which have resulted in the deaths of innocent Afghans (2008). Mullah Omar has picked up Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor as Mullah Baradar's successor (20100328). Mullah Baradar had been arrested in Karachi in Feb. 2010.

The Afghan government's confirmation that Mullah Omar died in April 2013 in Pakistan comes amid deepening divisions within the Taliban and the growing influence of rival militant groups like the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan. Even before news broke of Mullah Omar's death, there was mounting speculation of a power struggle within the Taliban, which has had only one leader since its formation in the early 1990s. The leadership struggle centers on two competing commanders: Taliban deputy leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansur and Mullah Omar's eldest son, Mullah Mohammad Yuqub. According to reports, the 26-year-old Yuqub is said to be ready to take over the reins. Yuqub is said to have the backing of field commanders and the Taliban's rank-and-file. Standing in his way is the powerful Mansur, who is said to have considerable clout among the political wing of the militant group.(20150730)
Mansur Dadullah was a younger brother of Mullah Dadullah, a brutal Taleban frontline commander during the Taleban regime and early insurgency period. The older brother virtually launched the insurgency with the killing of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) engineerin March 2003 – a shocking indication of what sort of insurgency was to come because the ICRC had always been respected by all parties to the conflict. Dadullah was himself killed in 2007 in a US-led coalition airstrike. Mansur Dadullah, also known as Bakht Muhammad and Mullah Akhtar, took over his brother’s network. He immediately accused both Akhtar Mansur – then in charge of the insurgency in Kandahar and possibly, also, just appointed second deputy to Mullah Omar – and Mullah Omar’s first deputy, Mullah Baradar, of having conspired to have Dadullah killed. Mansur Dadullah was subsequently disowned by Mullah Omar in an audio message in late 2007 after he had been charged with brutally killing two veteran Taleban fighters whom he had accused of spying on his brother. Another possible reason for his expulsion might have been revelations that he had been secretly talking to Western diplomats in Helmand. Mansur Dadullah was detained in 2008 by the Pakistani government and freed in September 2013 and returned to Zabul in early 2015 to revive a part of his brother’s network. One of Mansoor's newly appointed deputies is Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of a powerful insurgent network allied with al-Qaida that has carried out scores of attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. government has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. The Afghan Taliban announced July 31, 2015 that its 'shura' or supreme council has chosen Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as the new chief of the Afghan insurgent group a day after confirming reports of the death of its founder, Mullah Omar. The new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor served as deputy to Mullah Omar and was the head of the Taliban's political and military affairs. Maulvi Sheikh ul-hadith Haibatullah Akhundzada (from Garmsir, Helmand Province; other sources say he is from Sperwan area in Panjwayi district, Kandahar province) and Maulvi Sirajuddin Haqqani (from Jaji Maidan, Khost Province; he is the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani and a Gulf Arab wife) have been appointed as deputies to Mansoor.(20150731)

But Mullah Mohammad Hassan Rahmani -- who was the governor of Kandahar province during the Taliban's rule -- is quoted that Mansur was selected by only a small group of Taliban leaders despite opposition from him and other major commanders, including Mullah Abduraziq and Mullah Abdul Qayum Zaker. Rahmani said that he and his group wanted Mawlawi Yaqub, the 23-year-old son of Mullah Omar, to be the leader. Yaqub was deemed too young by those who selected Mansur.(20150731)

Amid growing rift among the Taliban leadership regarding the appoint of the group’s new leader, reports have emerged from southern Zabul province regarding preparation for a major clash between rival Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and Mullah Mansoor Dadullah. Mullah Akhtar Mansoor who was appointed as the new leader of Taliban has reportedly deployed around 600 armed militants Khak-e-Afghan area in Zabul province to fight with the militants of Mansoor Dadullah.(20150828)

Mullah Akhtar Mansur has been seriously injured in a firefight following a verbal dispute at a meeting of militant commanders in Pakistan. Mansur was seriously injured and taken to hospital. It was unsure whether Mullah Mansur had survived his injuries. Mullah Mansur had attended a meeting of Taliban commanders on December 1 in the Kachlakh area of Quetta, where the Taliban’s leadership council is believed to be located. Mullah Mansur became embroiled in a heated exchange with Mullah Abdullah Sardari, a Taliban commander and former Guantanamo Bay detainee who is known to operate in Pakistan. Sardari and four other Taliban commanders were reportedly killed in the firefight.(20151202)
 

U.S. military officials said Saturday, 21 May 2016 that an American drone strike had most likely killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a remote area of Pakistan near Afghanistan’s border. U.S. special operations forces targeted his vehicle southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. An adult male traveling with Mansoor was also most likely killed in the strike. Initial reports appearing online and in news broadcasts in the region incorrectly asserted that Mansoor had been killed in Zabul province in Afghanistan. (20160521) The death of the Taliban's leader has been confirmed Sunday by the Afghanistan government and members of the insurgent movement.(20160522)

According to reports, Sirajuddin Haqqani, Mullah Haibat Akhundzada, Mullah Qayoum, Mullah Abdul Qayoum Zakir and Mullah Shirin, Mullah Omer's brother Mullah Abdul Manan are possible forerunners to succeed Mansour.(20160522) "If they [Taliban] agree on a leader, they will probably agree on Omar's son Mullah Yaqub Yaqoob or Mullah Zakir. Sirajuddin Haqqani has huge influence among the Taliban but chances of his success in this regard is very little," said Hassan Haqyar, Taliban's deputy minister of mines during their regime in Kabul.(20160523)

"Sirajuddin Haqqani will face resistance since he runs his own group (Haqqani group), though he merged it with Taliban some factions within Taliban still do not consider it their part," said Rustam Shah Mohmand, the former ambassador to Afghanistan.(20160523)

 


Mansur speaks Arabic, DARI, Pushto and Urdu.

Background as of 20151203:
 

In total there are 13 individuals within the Taliban leadership that support Mullah Mansour.

1.  Mullah Hayatullah who is known as Haji Lala is from Arghandab district in Kandahar but now lives in Ishaqabad in Quetta. He heads up the unit that plans suicide attacks and blasts and oversees shadow governors in Kandahar.

2.  Mawlawi Abdulhai Mutmaen is from southern Uruzgan province but lives in Pakistan. He is a member of the cultural commission.

3.  Mawlawi Kabir hails from Paktia province but now reportedly lives in Pakistan. He heads the Taliban's military commission in Peshawar.

4.  Amir Khan Mutaqi comes from Sherana in Paktia but now reportedly lives in Banaras Road in Karachi, Pakistan. He is the head of the Cultural Shura of Quetta.

5.  Mullah Abdullah, who is also known as Torak Agah, is from Panjwai district in Kandahar but currently resides in Quetta. He is a member of the Taliban's internal and external relations commission.

6.  Abdul Samad Sani, from Band-e-Temor area in Maiwand district, Kandahar, lives in Ishaqabad in Quetta. He is a member of the financial commission of the Quetta Shura.

7.  Amir Khan Haqqani used to live in Mezan district in Zabul but now resides in Banaras Road in Karachi. He is a member of the internal and external relations commission.

8.  Shikh Abdul Hakim, from Band-e-Temor village in Maiwand district, Kandahar, lives in Ishaqabad in Quetta. He is the head of the Taliban's court commission.

9.  Mawlawi Sani, is from Arghandab district, Kandahar, but now lives in Karachi in Pakistan. He is the head of the Taliban's internal and external relations commission.

10. Haji Gul Agha, hails from Spinboldak district, Kandahar. He is the head of the financial commission.

11. Mullah Mohammadzai, lived in Kandahar but now lives in Ishaqabad in Quetta. He is the head of intelligence for the Taliban.

12. Mullah Mohammad Naeem, from Garmsir district in Helmand now lives in Gard-e-Jangal in Pakistan. He is a member of the Taliban's military commission.

13. Sardir Mohammad Ibrahim, who is from Sarwand village, Sangin district in Helmand now apparently lives in Hazara Ganji in Quetta. He is the head of the military commission.
14. According to reports Raz Mohammad Nangialy is leading the war since 20151207 in Zer Koh area of Shindand district, Herat Province in favor of Mullah Rasool while Mullah Abdul Samad is fighting in favour of Mullah Mansoor’.(20151208)

15. Mulla Alam, who was loyal to the new Afghan Taliban head Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kuchlak near Quetta on January 7. The Taliban subsequently confirmed his death.  Some Taliban officials blamed the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, for the murder. Others felt the dissident Taliban group may be involved in the killing. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.  The deceased had taken part in the fighting against the dissident Taliban commander, Mansoor Dadullah, in Zabul province recently. Mansoor Dadullah and his elder brother Moula Dada aka Haji Lala were killed in the fighting.

Mulla Alam, who was loyal to the new Afghan Taliban head Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kuchlak near Quetta on January 7. The Taliban subsequently confirmed his death.  Some Taliban officials blamed the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, for the murder. Others felt the dissident Taliban group may be involved in the killing. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.  The deceased had taken part in the fighting against the dissident Taliban commander, Mansoor Dadullah, in Zabul province recently. Mansoor Dadullah and his elder brother Moula Dada aka Haji Lala were killed in the fighting. - See more at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/89188-Afghan-Taliban-concerned-over-killing-of-commander-near-Quetta#sthash.aJKAXqDC.dpuf
Mulla Alam, who was loyal to the new Afghan Taliban head Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kuchlak near Quetta on January 7. The Taliban subsequently confirmed his death.  Some Taliban officials blamed the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, for the murder. Others felt the dissident Taliban group may be involved in the killing. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.  The deceased had taken part in the fighting against the dissident Taliban commander, Mansoor Dadullah, in Zabul province recently. Mansoor Dadullah and his elder brother Moula Dada aka Haji Lala were killed in the fighting. - See more at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/89188-Afghan-Taliban-concerned-over-killing-of-commander-near-Quetta#sthash.aJKAXqDC.dpuf
Mulla Alam, who was loyal to the new Afghan Taliban head Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kuchlak near Quetta on January 7. The Taliban subsequently confirmed his death.  Some Taliban officials blamed the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS, for the murder. Others felt the dissident Taliban group may be involved in the killing. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.  The deceased had taken part in the fighting against the dissident Taliban commander, Mansoor Dadullah, in Zabul province recently. Mansoor Dadullah and his elder brother Moula Dada aka Haji Lala were killed in the fighting. - See more at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/89188-Afghan-Taliban-concerned-over-killing-of-commander-near-Quetta#sthash.aJKAXqDC.dpuf
Last Modified 2016-05-23
Established 2010-01-22