Last month, the Taliban named Akhundzada to lead the Afghan militant group. The selection came after his predecessor Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan.

The man purporting to be al-Zawahiri said in the message that the jihadist group was "sad" over the death of Mansour. He praised the dead leader for fighting against what he called "Russian and Christian crusaders" and for "dying a martyr after a long history of jihad."

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