A second senior source added: “I am not satisfied after hearing the clip that it belongs to Mansour”, while a third said Mansour succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.
Advertisement
In a two-minute audio recording sent to media by the Taliban late Saturday, Mansoor insists the reported gunfight in neighboring Pakistan never happened. “It is part of the enemy propaganda war to create an impression that there are differences in the Taliban leadership and they have turned into a deadly infighting”, Mansour said in a 14-minute recorded message that Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid shared with VOA.
The statement comes after days of uncertainty following several reports of a firefight on December 1 near Quetta involving Mansur and several other Taliban leaders in which many people are said to have been killed or wounded.
Faizy had claimed that Mansour was injured in gunfight at a meeting of the Taliban commanders in Kuchlak area of Balochistan.
The firefight allegedly took place at a meeting of Taliban leaders, supposedly reflecting growing discord within the group.
A US-Afghan military operation backed by helicopter gunships freed more than 40 soldiers and police held captive in a Taliban prison in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, in a major raid against the insurgent group.
Rahimullah Yousufzai, a Pakistani analyst and long-time observer of the Taleban, said the voice sounded like Mansour’s.
Mullah Mansoor has been struggling with the Taliban leadership since assuming charge of the group following a controversial decision by the group’s council in July this year. Omar was killed in 2013 and was in charge of the Taliban for two decades. They accused him of covering up Mullar Omar’s death.
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.
But splits immediately emerged in the group, with some top leaders refusing to pledge allegiance to Mansour, saying the process to select him was rushed and even biased.
The claims over Mansoor’s death came after renewed efforts to revive peace talks with Taliban fighters.
Advertisement
A breakaway faction of the Taleban led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool was formed last month, in the first formal division in the once-unified group.
