Akhundzada took over when his predecessor, Akhtar Mansour, was killed in a U.S. drone strike near the Afghan-Pakistan border in 2016. For 15 years, until his sudden disappearance in May 2016, Akhundzada taught and preached at a mosque in Kuchlak, a town in southwestern Pakistan, associates and students have told Reuters.

The ICC prosecutor has sought arrest warrants for Taliban leaders Haibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of gender-based crimes against humanity. The charges relate to ongoing persecution of women and girls since the Taliban's 2021 rise to power.

By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Thursday he had applied for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan including supreme