Following the confirmation of the death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, the group has reportedly appointed Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as its new leader.
He was unanimously elected as the successor to Mullah Omar by the Taliban council on Thursday, Pakistani media reported.
"The council also elected Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is known as Khalifa, the chief of Haqqani as deputy of the Taliban's leader," a Taliban leader told The Express Tribune.
Mansoor served as the 'aviation minister' during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, according to Afghanistan's Pajhwok Afghan News.
According to the news agency, Mansoor was in the running to succeed Mullah Omar, but was criticised in the group for 'spreading the news' of the leader's death.
Afghanistan officials had confirmed on Wednesday that Mullah Mohammed Omar, the dreaded Taliban leader sought by the United States for aiding Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been dead for two years.
Mullah Omar reportedly died in Pakistan in a Karachi hospital from health problems in April 2013 and was buried on the Afghan side of the border with Pakistan.
"We confirm officially that he is dead," Abdul Hassib Seddiqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, told The Associated Press
A spokesperson for Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani also reportedly confirmed the news.
The Taliban is yet to officially announce their new leader and his deputy.
Speculations were that Mullah Omar's deputy Mullah Baradar Akhund would succeed him.
