Akhtar Mansour

Afghan forces clashed with Taliban fighters in Kunduz on Sept. 29 as the government launched an operation to retake the centre of the northern city, the first provincial capital to fall to the insurgents since their movement was toppled 14 years ago.

The Taliban's new leader told Afghanistan's government on Sept. 22 it must cancel a security deal with the United States and expel all foreign troops if it wants peace.

The Taliban on Aug. 31 admitted covering up longtime leader Mullah Omar's death for more than two years, saying he died in 2013 as was first claimed by the Afghan intelligence.

Six people were killed on August 6 when a Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged truck outside a police compound in eastern Afghanistan, in the first major insurgent attack since their announcement of leader Mullah Omar's death.

The family of deceased Taliban leader Mullah Omar has refused to pledge allegiance to his successor, calling on religious scholars to settle a growing rift within insurgent ranks over the power transition.
 

The Taliban announced Mullah Akhtar Mansour as their new leader July 31, marking a historic power transition for the militant movement that has waged a 14-year insurgency in Afghanistan.