Mullah Mansoor Dadullah (died 2015) was Mullah Dadullah's younger half-brother who succeeded him as a senior military commander of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

in southern Afghanistan. He came from the Arghandab district of

Kandahar province Kandahār ( ps, ; Kandahār, prs, ; ''Qandahār'') is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southern part of the country, sharing a border with Pakistan, to the south. It is surrounded by Helmand in the west, Uruzgan ...

, and belonged to the Kakar

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribe.

Militant activity

He appeared in a video which showed the "graduation Ceremony" of suicide bombers. In 2007, he was thought to be approximately 30 years old. During the 1990s, Mullah Mansoor Dadullah served as his brothers assistant during the Taliban's fight against the

Afghan Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

. In November 2015, he was named as the Deputy Emir for the Taliban splinter faction, the High Council of the Afghanistan Islamic Emirate. In March 2007, Mullah Mansoor Dadullah was serving a prison sentence in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

when he was released in exchange for Italian journalist

Daniele Mastrogiacomo Daniele Mastrogiacomo (born 30 September 1954) is an Italian-Swiss journalist and a war correspondent for ''la Repubblica'' newspaper. An expert in foreign politics, he began working for ''la Repubblica'' in 1980 and has been a special internationa ...

, along with several other Taliban prisoners. At the time he was not considered to be of an important member of the Taliban movement. After his brother was killed on May 12, 2007, a Taliban spokesman announced that Mansoor Dadullah would be taking his place as military commander of the Taliban insurgency in Southern Afghanistan. His appointment is not thought to be the result of any particular ability, but was simply due to the fact that he was Dadullah's brother. Taliban leader

Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of ...

, who had resented Dadullah's brutality, was said to have opposed Mansoor Dadullah's appointment. He did, however, receive support from

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

, who wished him to employ the tactics of

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ( ar, أَبُو مُصْعَبٍ ٱلزَّرْقَاوِيُّ, ', ''Father of Musab, from Zarqa''; ; October 30, 1966 – June 7, 2006), born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh (, '), was a Jordanian jihadist who ran a t ...

in Afghanistan. In June 2007, Mullah Mansoor Dadullah said: "Sheikh Osama Bin Laden is alive and active. He’s carrying out his duties. The latest proof that he is alive is that he sent me a letter of condolences after the martyrdom of my brother. He advised me to follow my brother’s path." On December 29, 2007 Mullah Mansoor Dadullah was removed from his post as military commander by

due to insubordination. On February 11, 2008, Dadullah was seriously wounded and captured by Pakistani security forces in a crackdown on Taliban in Gawal Ismailzai area.

Release

Dadullah, alongside six other prisoners, was released by Pakistan on September 7, 2013 on the request of Afghan government for peace talks. After his release, Dadullah returned to Afghanistan to reorganise his brothers followers in a renewed

Mullah Dadullah Front The Mullah Dadullah Front (also known as the Dadullah Front, the Mullah Dadullah Lang Allegiance or the Mullah Dadullah Mahaz) is an insurgent group in Afghanistan that has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings and assassinations cente ...

. Following the August 2015 announcement that Akhtar Mansour had succeeded the deceased Mullah Omar as leader of the Taliban, Dadullah refused to pledge allegiance to him, instead setting up a base with supporters in his native

Zabul Province Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabu ...

. Clashes followed between the forces loyal to Dadullah and Mansour. In early September, Afghan media sources had announced that Dadullah was said to have joined the Afghanistan branch of the

Islamic State group An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, following disputes over the appointment of Akhtar Mansour as leader of the Taliban. The announcement came from an Islamic State supporter in Afghanistan who further stated that 230 IS fighters were deployed to

Zabul province Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabu ...

from Farah province to aid Dadullah's forces against 2,100 Taliban militants sent by Mansour. According to the district governor of Arghandab in Zabul Province, Haji Momand Nasratyar, Dadullah’s fighters are sympathetic to the Islamic State. However, other Afghan sources state that Dadullah denied joining the Islamic State in Afghanistan and was still loyal to the Taliban. He reportedly said "We are with the emirate and will (always) be." Dadullah was opposed to the Taliban leadership, calling Akhtar Mansour a "forger".

Death

Dadullah was killed in November 2015 in clashes between his forces and those loyal to Taliban leader Mansour in the Khak-e-Afghan District of Zabul. The claims of his death were supported by local tribal elders, government officials and Taliban commanders, however his spokesman, Mullah Naim Niazi, said that Dadullah had only been wounded. Despite this denial, his faction officially confirmed his death on August 15, 2016 and named his nephew Mullah Emdadullah Mansoor as his replacement. Mansoor vowed revenge for his uncle's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadullah, Mansoor 1972 births 2015 deaths Pashtun people Taliban leaders Prisoners and detainees of Pakistan Afghan people imprisoned abroad Deaths by firearm in Afghanistan Afghan guerrillas killed in action Afghan expatriates in Pakistan