“The message of the chief of the Amir ul Momineen (commander of faithful), Mullah Akhtar has been received which will expose the ulterior motives of the enemy”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a brief message in Pashto and Dari languages sent to media.
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“I didn’t have a fight with anyone, no meeting was held and I have not been to Kuchlak (near Quetta in Pakistan) in years. This is all enemy propaganda”, the message added.
Mansour, the longtime Taliban number two, was named as leader immediately after Omar’s death was confirmed, but some parts of the movement have never accepted his authority and dozens have been killed in fighting between rival factions.
The statement followed days of uncertainty over the fate of the Taliban leader, after multiple reports said he had been badly wounded in the shootout at the home of another commander in Quetta, western Pakistan, late on Tuesday.
The 16-minute file said those “rumours” had been deliberately planted to weaken the Taliban, which has seen a new resurgence under the firebrand supremo despite its internal divisions.
Mansour’s death is being kept under wraps, as its confirmation could undermine the movement’s morale, according to the Afghan media, who believed the Taliban were unlikely to make a public announcement in this regard.
It was not potential to confirm whether or not the voice was actually that of Mansour though some senior Taliban members stated it appeared to be his.
“A new message from the leader of Islamic Emirate, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour has just reached us”.
The message came after a senior Afghanistan government official claimed that the Taliban leader had been killed in a gunfight in Pakistan.
A breakaway faction of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool was formed last month, in the first formal division in the once-unified group. “If they’d done it earlier it might have been more effective”, he said.
Reports of Mullah Mansour’s death less than five months after officially taking over the Taliban leadership have fueled speculation about a further splintering of the group. This after the Taliban finally admitted Mullah Omar had died two years ago.
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The raid marks a rare success for Afghan forces struggling to beat back the stubborn insurgency rapidly expanding north from its southern hotbeds.
