The voice in the message could not be independently verified by AFP but some militant commanders said it appeared to be his.
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“I think it’s a faked audio”.
Taliban members too were confused and concerned about the growing turmoil in their ranks following the death of their supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar.
Durin the 16-minute message, the man purported to be Mansur says the reports about his condition were spread intentionally to create divisions within the Taliban.
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.
The assertion adopted days of uncertainty over the destiny of the Taliban leader, after a number of reviews stated he had been badly wounded within the shootout on the house of one other commander in Quetta, western Pakistan, late on Tuesday. This is enemy’s propaganda.
Mujahid’s remarks came after Sultan Faizy, a spokesman for the first vice president of Afghanistan said in a Twitter post on Friday that Mansoor died of wounds a day after he was injured in gunfight at a meeting of the Taliban commanders.
Numerous leaders believe the audio message released to prove Mullah Akhtar Mansour is alive is fake.
He was elected Afghan Taliban chief on July 31 after the terror group confirmed the death of Mullah Omar.
Many were also unhappy that Omar’s death had been kept secret for two years – during which time annual Eid statements were issued in his name.
“I haven’t seen Kuchlak in years”, he said, referring to an area near the Pakistani city of Quetta where the dispute was said to have taken place.
But a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban strongly denied the reports. “The meeting was attended by our high officials, edited, and then sent on to the media”, said one of the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The shootout also threatens to derail a renewed regional push to jump-start peace talks with the Taliban.
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.
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Violent clashes between the two rival Taliban groups erupted in southern Afghanistan early last month that left several dead from both sides confirmed the rift.
