New Taliban Leader Takes Oaths On Video

Video has emerged apparently showing the Afghanistan Taliban's new leader, mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, accepting an oath of allegiance from tribal scholars and elders.

The two-minute clip circulating on the internet, which Sky News has been unable to verify, shows a man purporting to be Akhundzada embraced before a group of 20 men join hands and appear to swear loyalty to their leader.

It comes days after the Islamist group's previous leader mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a drone strike authorised by Barack Obama, elevating Akhundzada in a swift power transition.

:: Taliban Name New Leader After Mansour's Death

Multiple US drones targeted Mansour as he rode in a vehicle in a remote area in Pakistan along its border with Afghanistan, south-west of the town of Ahmad Wal, according to a US official.

Pakistan government spokesman Sartaj Aziz condemned the strike, declaring it was a "violation of Pakistan's sovereignty" and that Pakistan had "conveyed our serious concern to the United States".

The strike "undermined the Afghan peace process," Aziz said.

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Speaking at the G7 summit of world leaders in Japan on Thursday, President Obama said he was not optimistic of a change for the better any time soon after the killing of Mansour.

"In the short term, we anticipate the Taliban will continue to pursue an agenda of violence," he said.

A member of the Taliban's media commission has reportedly played down the appearance of a clear portrait picture of Akhundzada circulating online, suggesting it was taken 12 years ago when the new leader was on a Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

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Afghanistan's Taliban have been fighting to overthrow the country's Kabul government since 2001, when their Islamist regime was removed by the US-led invasion.