Mullah Hibatullah Akhunzada, the Taliban supreme leader, has appointed new governors for three provinces, including new security heads for the Taliban’s military corps.
abihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, announced the new appointments in a tweet on Sunday. Mohammad Ayub Khalid was designated as governor of Badakhshan, Qudratullah Abu Hamza as governor of Kunar, and Mawlawi Hizbullah as governor of Zabul.
Mujahid stated that Khalid had served as the Taliban’s former governor of Kunar, Abu Hamza as the former governor of Zabul, and Hizbullah as the group’s former commander of the 217 Omari Corps.
Akhunzada has also appointed Mawlawi Abdul Jamil, who was a former judge in the provincial court in Badakhshan, as deputy governor of this province, and designated Amanuddin Mansoor, who was the former governor of Badakhshan, as the new commander of the 217 Omari Corps. Mohammad Agha Ibrahim will serve as the deputy commander of the Corps.
The appointment of the new governor in Badakhshan province comes after the deputy governor of the province, Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi, was killed in a car bombing earlier this month. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State.