Who are 4 top leaders of Taliban 2.0?
Kabul: The Taliban government toppled by U.S.-backed local forces following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States is back in Afghanistan after two decades.
From 1996 to 2001, the militant group was notorious for brutally enforcing its version of sharia and suppressing religious minorities. Then, Mullah Mohammad Omar headed the group before he went into hiding after US forces toppled the Taliban. His son confirmed Mullah Mohammad Omar's death in 2013.
Now, the Taliban 2.0 has new leadership.
- Haibatullah Akhundzada: He was appointed leader of the Taliban after his predecessor Mullah Mansour Akhtar was killed in a US drone strike in 2016. He was asked to unify the movement after the death of Mullah Omar.
- Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob: He is the son of the Taliban's founder, Mullah Omar. He heads the Taliba's military commission, which comprises commanders charged with executing the insurgency's strategic operations in the war.
- Sirajuddin Haqqani: The son of the the anti-Soviet jihad commander Jalaluddin Haqqani. Sirajuddin is both the deputy leader of the Taliban movement and also heading the Haqqani network.
- Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar: He fought side-by-side with Mullah Omar against Soviet forces in the 1970s-80s. Baradar is one of the co-founders of the Taliban movement. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2010 but was released in 2018 and relocated to Qatar. He was appointed the Taliban's political office.
