Taliban Leader Leads Eid al-Fitr Prayer in Rare Appearance (Video)

The Afghan government announced that Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, who rarely appears in public, led the Eid al-Fitr prayer on Wednesday with thousands of worshippers in Kandahar, his stronghold in southern Afghanistan, without any photos of him being released. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated that "the supreme leader led the Eid al-Fitr prayer at the Eidgah mosque in Kandahar, in front of thousands of his countrymen." An eyewitness reported that the thousands of worshippers present could not see Akhundzada due to the very large number of security personnel. The Taliban spokesperson mentioned that Mullah Hibatullah attended the central Eidgah in Kandahar and performed the Eid prayer. However, the Taliban did not release any images of Akhundzada. In videos received by Afghanistan International, residents of Kandahar city can be seen… [Tweet content cut off] Worshippers were prevented from entering the main building of the mosque, but they were able to pray on-site. A sermon purportedly by Akhundzada was relayed via loudspeakers, but the Taliban did not broadcast any images of their leader. Since taking on the position of supreme leader of the movement in 2016, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has rarely appeared publicly.