Afghan Biographies

Khadim, Abdul Rauf


Name Khadim, Abdul Rauf
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1980
Function/Grade Taliban Leader
History and Biodata

3. Biodata Mulla Rauf Khadem:
A drone strike in Afghanistan wounded and killed some people including a veteran militant suspected of having defected to Islamic State from the Taliban
. Mullah Abdul Rauf was traveling in a Saracha vehicle along with some of his comrades in Kajaki District when he came under a drone attack.
Mullah Abdul Rawouf Khadim was seriously wounded following the attack  but four Pakistani Taliban were killed. Mullah Abdul Rawouf has escaped in wounded condition but has died later. The other casualties included his brother-in-law and four Pakistanis.(20150209)

Taliban supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar has appointed Abdul Rauf Khadim, Nurzai Noorzai tribe, born 1980,  (alias Abdul Rauf Alizai Aliza, Maulvi Abdul Rauf Khadim) and Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor as his two deputies to replace Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was arrested by Pakistani and US intelligence agents near Karachi in February (20100329). Earlier, it was reported that Abdul Qayyum Zakir had been named as one of the two new deputies to Mulla Omar, but Taliban sources clarified that Khadim and not Zakir had been made a deputy leader of the Taliban movement. Incidentally, both Khadim and Zakir had been captured in Afghanistan and then held for a number of years in the notorious US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay. And both became well-known and earned respect from Taliban members after their release from prison in Nov 2007.

Khadim and Zakir rejoined the Taliban armed resistance against the US-led forces in Afghanistan after returning home and then quickly rose in the Taliban ranks. It is believed torture and maltreatment at the hands of the US prison authorities prompt former al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners to again pick up the gun and fight the Western forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Taliban sources said Khadim would be the first deputy leader of the Taliban. However, Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor being younger and energetic would shoulder greater responsibility as a deputy to Mulla Omar. Khadim, who lost a leg while fighting on a Taliban frontline in Afghanistan, was a surprise choice of Mulla Omar as one of his deputies. Due to his disability, Mulla Omar named Mansoor as his second deputy to assist Khadim in his work.

During the Taliban rule, Khadim served as corps commander in Kabul. He belongs to Helmand, the province that has arguably produced more Taliban fighters than any other place in Afghanistan and still considered as a major Taliban stronghold. Khadim fought many battles as a Taliban commander against rival Mujahideen groups and Northern Alliance and was captured while fighting against the US-led Nato forces. Both Khadim and Mansoor have been members of the Taliban political and military Shuras, or councils, their top decision-making bodies. The number of members in the Taliban political Shura is 28 while it is stated to be 27 in the military council.

Last Modified 2015-03-20
Established 2010-03-29