Thu Aug 13, 2015 17:51:17
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri pledged the group's allegiance to new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in an audio recording released Thursday on terrorist websites.
"As emir of Al-Qaeda, I pledge to you our allegiance, following the path of Sheikh Osama bin Laden and his martyred brothers in their allegiance to Mullah Omar," Zawahiri said, referring to the former Al-Qaeda leader and to the longtime Taliban chief whose death was confirmed by militants last month.
The statement came amid a bitter struggle within the Taliban over Mansour's leadership.
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