Who's who in the Taleban

KABUL • The Taleban's inner workings and leadership have always been largely shrouded in secrecy, even during its rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. As the hardline Islamist group appears to be on the brink of regaining power, here is a rundown of what little is known about its leadership:

Haibatullah Akhundzada was appointed leader of the Taleban in a swift power transition after an American drone strike killed his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour, in 2016.

Before ascending the movement's ranks, Akhundzada was a low-profile religious figure. He is widely believed to have been selected to serve more as a spiritual figurehead than as a military commander.

After being appointed leader, Akhundzada secured a pledge of loyalty from Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, who showered the religious scholar with praise, calling him "the emir of the faithful". This helped seal his Islamist credentials with the group's long-time allies.

Akhundzada was tasked with the enormous challenge of unifying a militant movement that briefly fractured during a bitter power struggle after the assassination of his predecessor, and the revelation that the leadership had hidden the death of Taleban founder Mohammed Omar for years. The leader's public profile has been largely limited to the release of annual messages during Islamic holidays.

Abdul Ghani Baradar was raised in Kandahar - the birthplace of the Taleban movement. Like most Afghans, his life was forever altered by the Soviet invasion of the country in the late 1970s, transforming him into an insurgent.

He was believed to have fought side by side with the one-eyed cleric Mohammed Omar.

The two would go on to found the Taleban movement in the early 1990s amid the chaos and corruption of the civil war that erupted after the Soviet withdrawal.

Following the Taleban's collapse in 2001, Baradar is believed to have been among a small group of insurgents who approached interim leader Hamid Karzai with a letter outlining a potential deal that would have seen the militants recognise the new administration.

Arrested in Pakistan in 2010, Baradar was kept in custody until pressure from the US saw him freed in 2018 and relocated to Qatar. This is where he was appointed head of the Taleban's political office and oversaw the signing of the withdrawal agreement with the Americans.

Sirajuddin is the son of the famed commander from the anti-Soviet resistance, Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Sirajuddin doubles as the deputy leader of the Taleban movement while also heading the powerful Haqqani Network. This network is a US-designated terror group that has long been viewed as one of the most dangerous factions fighting Afghan and US-led Nato forces in Afghanistan during the past two decades. The group is infamous for its use of suicide bombers and is believed to have orchestrated some of the most high-profile attacks in Kabul over the years.

The network has also been accused of assassinating top Afghan officials and holding kidnapped Western citizens for ransom, including US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was released in 2014.

Known for their independence, fighting acumen and savvy business dealings, the Haqqanis are believed to oversee operations in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan, while holding considerable sway over the Taleban's leadership council.

The son of Mohammed Omar, Yaqoob heads the group's powerful military commission, which oversaw a network of field commanders charged with executing strategic operations in the war.

His lineage and ties to his father - who enjoyed a cult-like status as the Taleban's leader - serve as a potent symbol and make him a unifying figure over a sprawling movement. However, speculation remains rife about Yaqoob's exact role within the movement, with some analysts arguing that his appointment to the role last year was merely cosmetic.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE