BBCNEWS BBC News August 16, 2021 13:44:00
They were joined by young men from pakistani madrassas or religious schools. after the us—led coalition's offensive resulted in the regime's collapse in 2001 — many taliban leaders took refuge in pakistan and continued to direct attacks from there. the un estimates there are between 58,000 and 100,000 taliban fighters. haibatullah akhundzada became supreme leader of the taliban in 2016, after his predecessor mohammad mansour was killed in a drone strike in pakistan. his deputies include mullah abdul ghani baradar — one of the co—founders of the taliban — who heads the political offic...