mullah akhtar mansour
Akhunzada, a former head of the Taliban's judiciary, vowed there would be no return to peace talks with the government.
Mullah Akhtar Mansour had "continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces," Obama stated.
The Taliban have made no official statement but two commanders close to Mansour denied he was dead.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Several sources in the Taliban have said that Mansour was seriously wounded and possibly killed in a shootout.
He called the decision to conceal ex-leader Mullah Omar's death a "historic mistake."