The new leader of the Afghan Taliban has issued his first audio statement, calling for unity and promising to continue his group's fight.
In the 33-minute message released by the group on Saturday, the new Taliban chief also advised his followers not to pay attention to rumours spread about the Taliban campaign.
"We should all work to preserve unity, division in our ranks will only please our enemies, and cause further problems for us," he said.
The Taliban elected Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as its new leader, after the group confirmed the death of his predecessor Mullah Omar.
Sources said the Taliban Supreme Council was not consulted before the appointment of Mansoor, a move that could impact on the peace talks with the Afghan government.
"Our goal and slogan is to implement sharia and an Islamic system, and our jihad will continue until this is done," he said in the message.
Mansoor is only the second leader the Taliban have had since Omar, an elusive figure who was rarely seen in public and founded the group in the 1990s.
Kabul held talks last month with the Taliban in an attempt to work towards a peace process for the war-ravaged nation, though the second round of talks that had been expected in Pakistan on Friday was postponed following the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar.
