Mullah Omar’s family declares support for new Taliban leader

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban insurgents say that the family of late Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has announced their support for Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as his successor.

A statement posted on the Taliban’s web site on Tuesday said that Mullah Omar’s brother, Mullah Abdul Manan, and eldest son, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoub, declared their support for Mansour’s leadership in a gathering of senior Taliban officials.

Manan confirmed to The Associated Press that he and Yaqoub are now pledging their alliance to Mansour; the pair, along with several other senior Taliban commanders, initially rejected Mansour’s ascension.

The reversal should remove one of the main obstacles to Mansour’s fledgling leadership, but there are still a number of other Taliban commanders who oppose Mansour as the leader.