The New York Times reports: Two days after acknowledging that its supreme commander, Mullah Muhammad Omar, was dead, the Taliban released an audio recording said to be from the group’s new leader.

In it, the new leader, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, declared that “the jihad will continue until there is an Islamic system” in Afghanistan, and he called on the Taliban to remain unified just as they had when Mullah Omar was at the helm.

He called on the insurgents to pray for “the strength and courage to follow the path of Mullah Omar,” the founding leader of the Taliban who had not been seen in public since late 2001, when his government in Afghanistan fell. [Continue reading…]