Omar no more, says Taliban; Mullah Akhtar becomes chief

The Afghan Taliban have released a statement purportedly from the family of Mullah Omar saying he has died of an unspecified illness.Meanwhile, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, a top Afghan Taliban leader, who backed the peace process and a former Aviation Minister in the pre-2001 Taliban regime, has been appointed as the new chief of the insurgent group.

The statement, emailed to The Associated Press on Thursday, didn’t say when he died. It followed an announcement from the Kabul Government the day before. Senior Taliban figures have also said that Mullah Omar died.The statement says it’s being issued in the name of Mullah Omar’s brother, Mullah Abdul Manan, and his son, Mohammad Yaqub.