The Taliban quickly sought a replacement leader.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Taliban leadership council announced on May 22 (local time) that it has begun considering a replacement for leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who is believed to have been killed in a US airstrike on May 21 in Pakistan.

The Taliban quickly sought a replacement for their leader, Mansour, who was believed to be dead.

The attack on Akhtar Mansour is the latest high-level action in Pakistan by the U.S. since the operation to kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Currently, the Taliban has not officially confirmed whether Mansour is dead or not. Although the Afghan government has declared him dead, US National Security Secretary Jeh Johnson stated that Washington cannot confirm the Taliban leader's status at this time.

Sources from the Taliban indicate that the likely replacement for Mansour is the guerrilla commander, Sirajuddin Haqqani.

Haqqani, for whom the US offered a $5 million reward for his capture, was considered one of the most dangerous leaders in the Taliban insurgency. He was responsible for some of the Taliban's deadliest attacks, including the April 2016 attack in Kabul that killed 64 people.

Michael Kugelman, a senior advisor at the Woodrow Wilson Institute for Strategic Studies, said, "Given the Taliban's current decentralized system, Haqqani would be the most likely candidate to replace Mansour."

Additionally, the Taliban are also considering Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of former Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar. Former Guantanamo prisoners Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir and Mullah Sherin are also on the list of potential replacements.

Thanh Hien

(According to Reuters)