Taliban Announce Caretaker Government For Afghanistan

The Taliban announced a hardline new caretaker government for Afghanistan on Tuesday, with veteran Taliban member Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as interim prime minister and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the militant group, as his deputy.

Mullah Yaqoob, one of the deputy leaders of the Taliban since 2016, will act as caretaker defense minister.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terror group aligned with the Taliban and al Qaeda, has been appointed acting interior minister. Haqqani has a $5 million US bounty on his head.

The announcement of key figures in the caretaker government comes weeks after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, and presents the first picture of how their leadership of the country will begin to take shape.