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Zawahiri in new Taliban pledge Al-Qaeda's Zawahiri pledges loyalty to new Taliban chief
(35 minutes later)
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri pledges allegiance to new Afghan Taliban chief in audio message Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to the new Afghan Taliban chief in an audio message posted online.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. The pledge to Mullah Akhtar Mansour was issued by Al-Qaeda's media arm Al-Sahab and was Zawahiri's first message since September last year.
If you want to receive Breaking News alerts via email, or on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App then details on how to do so are available on this help page. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts. There had been speculation about whether Zawahiri was himself dead since the death of former Taliban head Mullah Omar was confirmed last month.
Zawahiri offered his condolences.
Al-Qaeda and Zawahiri considered Mullah Omar to be the leader of the global jihadist movement.
This was however contested by Al-Qaeda's rival, the Islamic State militant group, which announced the establishment of a caliphate last year.