The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday confirmed the death of its former chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, and named Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada as its next head. United States President Barack Obama had confirmed that Mansour died in a drone strike, but the Taliban had not commented on it. Reports had said the group was struggling to name a new chief.

Obama had confirmed Mansour’s death while on a three-day visit to Vietnam. He reaffirmed US support for the Afghan government and security forces but clarified that the drone strike did not mean that America would revert to active engagement in fighting in Afghanistan. America withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in 2014. Obama also urged the Taliban to join peace talks, and said Mansour had refused to partake in peace talks and “continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and coalition forces”.