An Afghan man reads a local newspaper with photos of the new leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015.
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The Afghan Taliban on Saturday released an audio statement from Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as pressure mounted on the group to offer proof that their chief was still alive after reportedly being critically wounded in a gunfight earlier this week. “This is propaganda of the enemy”, says the man in the recording.
The dissidents were said to be upset by the killing of a breakaway leader, Mullah Mansour Dadullah, and hundreds of his followers, in fighting with the mainstream Taliban. He said the incident took place in the home of Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi, a former Taliban official, and that six Taliban figures, including Sarhadi, were killed.
It was not possible to verify whether the voice was Mansoor’s, although some militant commanders of the group said it appeared to be his. “Our supreme leader is in a faraway place where only a few trusted commanders can reach him”, Mujahid said.
The Taliban has been struggling to contain divisions ever since Mansour, the movement’s longtime number two, was named leader after Mullah Omar’s death was confirmed in July. “This is all enemy propaganda”.
His declare to the management has been rejected by some factions within the Taliban who’ve accused him of overlaying up Mullah Omar’s demise and seizing energy with out correct authority.
Some officials in Kabul claimed later that the Afghan Taliban chief had been mortally wounded during the incident Tuesday and later died of the injuries he suffered in Kuchlak, a small town near Quetta, capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province.
In the audio message Mansour also announced that he had no fight with any of the opponents in insurgent group.
Considering Omar’s death was kept a secret for two years, questions are now being raised about the authenticity of Mansour’s tape.
Dozens of people were killed in clashes between rival factions last month. “I believe he s dead”, a senior Taliban source told AFP on Sunday, adding that the group is buying time to select a new leader and bring their organisation out of “this sudden shock”.
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Speculation about Mansour’s death has also threatened to derail a renewed regional push to jump-start peace talks with the Taliban.
