Mullah Omar’s son elevated to senior Taliban military position

Kabul, April 5 (IANS) The Taliban has anointed Mullah Omar's elder son to a senior military position within the Afghan Taliban, the insurgent group has said, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the elder son of the former Taliban chief, had previously refused to accept the leadership of the group’s chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. He will now be in-charge of military commission in 15 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, a Taliban statement said.

The military commission is responsible for overseeing all military affairs of the Taliban and was headed by Mullah Ibrahim Sadr.

In addition to being handed the key military position, he has also been included in the Taliban’s top decision-making council, the “Rehbari Shura”.

The Taliban have also inducted Mullah Abdul Manan, Mullah Omar’s brother and Yaqoob’s uncle, into the leadership council, the statement said.

It added that both Yaqoob and Manan have formally assumed their offices at a meeting of Taliban leaders, members of the leadership council and senior commanders.

The Express Tribune has reported that Monday’s announcement was part of an understanding between the Taliban leadership and Mullah Omar’s family.

At one stage, Yaqoob and Manan were unwilling to accept top positions in the group when Mansoor’s fighters had launched operations against those who refused to pledge their allegiance to Omar’s successor, the daily added.