Akhtar Mansour

Mansoor is thought to have been born either in a village named Kariz or another village named Band-i-Taimoor (source: I.E.A.), both of which are situated within the Maiwand District of Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, sometime during the 1960s. The biography released by the Talibans' Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan website shows 1347 for his date of birth, which is according to the solar Hijri calendar, which corresponds to 1968. This year of birth is corroborated by S. Mehsud, of the C.T.C. West Point. According to Ahmed Rashid, Mansoor belonged to the Alizai tribe, but other sources claim that he was of the Ishaqzai tribe,[note 1] in any case, both the Alizai and the Ishaqzai are of the Durrani line of the Pashtun people. Mansoor was educated at a village mosque and joined primary school at about the age of seven (source: I.E.A.).[2][3][4][5][6][7][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Sometime during the year 1985, he joined the jihadi war against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This involvement included his participation within the Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi group. During the same time Mohammad Omar was a commander of an organization within Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. Mansoor participated in the war ( jihad ) against members of the Soviet military, within Maiwand, Sang-e-Hessar, Zangawat and other parts of the city, and the Pashmul area of the Panjwai district, under the command of Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhond, apparently commanded by him at least while fighting at the last location. During 1987 he was apparently injured (sustaining 13 separate wounds according to the I.E.A. source), while stationed at Sanzary area of Panjwai district in Kandahar. Known as one of the prominent warriors, Mansoor joined the Maulvi Obaidullah Ishaqzai group in 1987 but later Ishaqzai surrendered to Nur ul-Haq Ulumi, now the interior minister. Soon afterwards, he migrated to Quetta.[5][7]

After the war, Mansoor resumed his religious education in different seminaries and later shifted to Peshawar where he joined Jamia Mohammadia at the Jalozai Refugee camp. He was a student at Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, which is where Mohammed Omar also studied. He was apparently a popular student, during his time at the madrassa from 1994 to 1995, located within the Jalozai refugee camp for Afghans near Peshawar, Pakistan, according to Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, who met him during that time.[4][5][14]

After the capture of Kandahar airport he was appointed as director general, or otherwise termed, security officer in charge, of the Kandahar airport, a role which encompassed both the air force and air-defence systems of Kandahar. After the taking of Kabul during 1996 he was made director of Ariana airlines, and additionally Minister of the Emirate for aviation and tourism, by Mohammed Omar, within the Talebani Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, together with his overseeing the Emirates' air force and air-defence systems, from his additional appointment as head of these within the ministry of defence. Notably, while minister, Mansoor organized a 24-hour flights services within Afghanistan, thereby organizing the provision of facilities for Muslims to go to Mecca as Hajj via air-flight. During 1996 the Mullah appointed the individual Farid Ahmed to station manager of Ariana airlines.[7][16][17][18][19][20]

During 1997, when the Taliban tried unsuccessfully to capture the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Mansoor was captured by an Uzbek warlord. For two months he remained there as a prisoner of war before Mohammed Omar traded him out.[21]

During 1998, the Mullah visited Frankfurt, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic, during a 25-day trip visit to the unofficial envoy to Europe at the time, Mullah Nek Muhammad:[1]

He came to Germany to purchase airport equipment, parts for airliners and military choppers for the Taliban air force

— Mullah Nek Muhammad, as reported by S. Yousafzai

After the conclusion of the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, Akther Masour was reported, by Anand Arni, a former officer with the Indian organisation Research & Analysis Wing, as being seen embracing Maulana Masood Azhar, the then leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed.[22][23]

In 2001, he surrendered to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai to ask for amnesty. He was forgiven after which he returned to his home district. American forces however refusing to believe he and other senior Taliban commanders had given up fighting, conducted a series of night raids to capture him after which he fled to Pakistan, where he helped to shape the Taliban as an insurgent organisation.[13]

Mullah Mansour was appointed as shadow governor of Kandahar, from sometime after 2001, until May 2007.[17][24][25]

In a previously secret state communication of the U.S. government in 2006, Akhtar Mansoor was listed as the 23rd member of the Taliban (with the late Mohammed Omar as the first member).[26]

Wahid Muzhda is quoted as saying, in reference to Akther Mansoor:[30][31]

in 2013 he convinced other Taliban leaders to open the group's political office in Qatar to initiate negotiations with the West.

a fact which is corroborated by an additional report, which states the office was within Doha, Qatar.[28]

According to a 2014 report, Akther Mansoor, together with Abdul Qayum Zakir and Gul Agha Ishakzai, were stated to be involved in fighting over control of a major opium-producing area (land of Maiwand District) against a co-founder of the Taliban movement, Abdul Ghani Baradar.[32][33]

An article, published 12 March 2015, stated Mullah Mansour and Abdul Qayum Zakir, who were long-term rivals, had met together in order to find an agreement and at the meeting had slaughtered sheep for the purposes of a feast. The article stated Mansour was in favour of initiating so-called talks with Afghani government officials at the time, but was unable to make any progress in his own direction due to Zakir being opposed to the opening of a dialogue with the Afghan government.[34]

According to one report, dated 17 March 2015, Mullah Masoor was at that time deputy amir ul-momenin, military leader and head of the shura of Quetta.[35]

Mansour wrote a letter to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on behalf of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, released on June 16, 2015, in order to express his concerns of the potential for a negative influence of ISIS upon Afghan Talibans' progress, since ISIS activities might pose a risk of causing "multiplicity" within forces of the jihad of Afghanistan. The letter, appealing to the unity of "religious brotherhood", requests al-Baghdadi might extend "goodwill" to the Taliban, which "doesn't want to see interference in its affairs". The letter was written in Pashto and released within the Voice of Jihad site.[24][36][37]

Additionally, the letter shows Mansour considered the late (Sheikhs) Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden, the late Abu Musab al Zarqawi and Ibn al-Khattab, to be heroes. In addition the letter expresses recognition of the support to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, of "famous religious scholars", of these he provides (Sheikh) Hamud bin Uqla al Shuaybi as an example.[24]

On 21 May 2016, Mansour was killed in a U.S. military drone strike on the N-40 National Highway in Pakistan[61] near Ahmad Wal, not far from Pakistan–Afghanistan border; Mansour had crossed earlier that day from Iran into Pakistan to Iran at the Taftan, Balochistan border crossing, some 450 kilometres (280 mi) away from the spot where he had been killed.[8][62][63] Mansour was being driven to Quetta, after a long stay in Iran,[64][61] reportedly to both visit family and seek medical treatment.[63] The U.S. intelligence services had learned his location via electronic intercepts,[61] and the movements of the vehicle were tracked by signals intelligence.[61] Mansour had crossed into Pakistan posing as a Pakistani citizen, using forged identity documents (a Pakistani passport and national ID card under the name "Muhammad Wali."[63] The false passport showed that Mansour had entered Iran on March 28.[8] Mansour and his taxi driver were both killed in the strike[63][65] against the Toyota Corolla, which was struck by two Hellfire missiles launched by Reaper drones that had evaded Pakistani radar.[61]

The following day, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the U.S. had "conducted a precision airstrike that targeted Taliban leader Mullah Mansour in a remote area of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border" against Mansour that had likely killed him, and stated that Mansour "posed a continuing, imminent threat" to U.S. personnel and Afghans.[66] Kerry said that the leaders of both Pakistan and Afghanistan were made aware of the airstrike but did not comment on the timing of the notifications, which he said included a telephone call from him to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.[66] The Pakistani government later said it was notified of the strike seven hours after it took place.[61] On May 23, 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed that Mansour had been killed in the American airstrike that he had sanctioned, and stated that Mansour had been planning attacks against U.S. targets in Kabul.[9] Obama stated afterwards that he had hoped Mansour's death would lead to the Taliban joining a peace process.[67][68] The death of Mansour was also later officially confirmed separately by the Afghan government and members of the Taliban.[8][9]

The U.S. government agencies involved reportedly agreed that officials were to be vague about identifying the location of the strike, beyond saying it took place in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.[61][69] The strike that killed Mansour was a rare instance of a U.S. drone strike in Balochistan; U.S. strikes in Pakistan were more generally limited to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.[61] Senior Taliban leaders said "that Pakistani authorities had delivered Mansour's badly burned remains for burial" in Quetta, although Pakistani authorities denied doing so.[9]

The following is a list of reported information:

• Born sometime during either 1960, 1963, 1965 or 1968.[2][3][4][5]
• Joined war against Soviet invasion during 1985.[5]
• Joined Maulvi Obaidullah Ishaqzai during 1987.[5]
• Injured during battle during 1987.[7]
• Student at Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa 1994–1995.[14]
• Made director of Ariana airlines during 1996.[17]
• Sometime during 1996 appointed to Minister of Civil Aviation (including both domestic and military flights), Transportation, Tourism.[16][17][18][19]
• Injured during battle May 1997.[7]
• Visited Europe during 1998.[1]
• Listed for sanctioning by the United Nations as of 25 January 2001.
• Known to be involved in activities identified as terrorist within the provinces of Khost, Paktia and Paktika, Afghanistan as of May 2007.[16]
• Made Governor of Kandahar by the then powers of the Taliban, as of May 2007.[16]
• Attendee of meeting (2007) to organize bombing campaign to kill Ahmad Wali Karzai and Hamid Karzai.[78]
• Appointed to the Quetta Shura sometime during 2007.[22][28]
• Deputy to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the Taliban Supreme Council as of 2009.[16]
• Temporarily in charge of the Taliban Supreme Council from February 2011.[16]
• Identified as involved within the trafficking of illegal drugs, principally through Gerd-e-Jangal (within Afghanistan); 2011.[16]
• Public statement as leader of Taliban as of 30 July 2015.[12]
• During August and September 2015, the Mullah had sent a request to Mullah Dadullah to leave Zabul, using the Taliban shadow governor for Zabul, and subsequently sent fighters against the non-allegiant Mullah Dadullah.[79]

• Amir-ul-Momineen
• Caliphs
• Jihad
• Kunduz
• Mullah Mohammad Rabbani
• Mullah Mohammad Umar Mujahid
• Sahib
• Sharia law

• Peter Tomsen, The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers (PublicAffairs, 2013), ISBN 1610394127