Taliban faces leadership crisis post Mansour's death

Days after Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a United States drone attack, the deadly militant group is struggling to find his successor.

The two main contenders -- Mullah Yakoub, the Taliban founder's son, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, an implacable foe of US forces -- has backed out of the leadership race, AFP has reported.

"Yakoub has refused to accept the role, saying he is too young for it," a senior Taliban source in northwest Pakistan told AFP.

"Mansour's deputy and operational head of the Haqqani network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has also refused due to personal reasons."

The insurgent group has been holding emergency meetings since Sunday at an undisclosed location in Pakistan to find a unifying figure for the leadership post.

However, Taliban has yet to officially confirm the death of Mansour, which has thrown the deeply factionalised Taliban into disarray nine months after he was elevated to the Taliban leadership following a bitter power struggle.

"The main challenge is to save the Taliban movement from being further divided," another Taliban source said, adding that supreme council members were constantly changing the venue of their meetings to avoid potential air strikes. 

"It will take time to reach a consensus for the leadership position."

Apart from Yakoub and Haqqani, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar's name cropped up to lead the group. Ghani, the movement's former deputy, is said to be close to the Pakistani military establishment.

He was jailed by Pakistan in 2010 but freed in September 2013 as part of efforts to boost Afghanistan's peace process. He has since been reported to be under house arrest by Pakistani authorities.

Mullah Adbul Qayyum Zakir, considered one of the group's most violent and committed commanders, is another leading contender.

The complicated search for a new leader risks igniting a new succession battle within the Taliban, which saw its first formal split last year after Mansour was made the chief.