An ordinary, albeit strikingly clear, headshot of the secretive Afghan Taliban's newly appointed chieftain has triggered a flurry of speculation over the motive behind its release. A picture of Haibatullah Akhundzada was unofficially circulated on social media soon after he was declared the new Taliban leader on Wednesday, taking jihadi watchers by surprise.
Only a grainy image of Mullah Omar, the insurgent group's secretive one-eyed founder who died two years ago, was published and the Taliban released a coarse handout photo of his successor Mullah Akhtar Mansour. So why was a high-resolution portrait photo, showing Akhundzada with a salt-and-pepper beard, circulated just days after Mansour was incinerated in a US drone strike in Pakistan? And who was behind it? Those questions have prompted an international avalanche of social media speculation. "If u were the Taliban wld u want (pictures) of your leader splashed around so he can be droned easily?" one Twitter user said. "Oh hey look the Taliban have released a picture of their latest hellfire-missile-bait leader," said another.