DUBAI: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on Thursday pledged his group’s allegiance to new Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour who is facing a bitter struggle over his leadership.

“As emir of Al Qaeda, I pledge to you our allegiance, following the path of Sheikh (Osama) bin Laden and his martyred brothers in their allegiance to Mullah Omar,” Zawahiri said in a recording, referring to the former Al Qaeda leader and to the long-time Taliban chief, whose death was confirmed last month.

Mansour, a trusted deputy of Omar, is taking charge as the movement faces growing internal divisions and is threatened by the rise of the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group, which is making inroads in Afghanistan.

Zawahiri’s pledge comes as Al Qaeda also faces a growing rivalry for pre-eminence in the global jihadist movement with IS, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq.

The recording was featured in a video that opens with images of Osama bin Laden pledging allegiance to Omar. The recording then plays over a picture of Zawahiri.

He says that the “Islamic emirate” established by the Taliban in Afghanistan was the “first legitimate emirate after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and there is no legitimate emirate in the world apart from it”.

He pledged to Mansour to “implement Sharia law” and to continue “jihad until every part of occupied Muslim land is free”.

Mansour was announced as the new Taliban chief on July 31, after the movement confirmed the death of Omar. But splits have emerged in the Taliban following the appointment, with some top leaders, including Omar’s son and brother, refusing to pledge allegiance to Mansour.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged the news of Zawahiri’s pledge of allegiance, but said: “We will react about it later.... We don’t want to comment on it now.”

Mullah Mansour is one of the founders of the Taliban movement and is seen as a moderate, pro-peace, pro-talks leader. However, he has faced powerful rivals within the Taliban who are strongly opposed to peace talks with the Afghan government, with some militants also unhappy at the thought he may have deceived them for more than a year about Omar’s death.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2015

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