Fate of Taliban leader remains undetermined

Conflicting reports have deepened uncertainty surrounding the fate of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, after the insurgent Islamist group repeatedly denied he had been wounded in a gunfight after a dispute with other senior leaders.

Several sources in the Taliban have said that Mansour, whose claim to the leadership is rejected by a rival faction, was seriously wounded and possibly killed in a shootout at the house of another Taliban leader near Quetta in Pakistan on Tuesday.

Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said on Twitter that Mansour was wounded in a firefight near Quetta, in western Pakistan, but there has been no direct evidence.

A government spokesman went further on Friday, claiming that Mansour did not survive the clash, which threatens to derail a fresh regional push to jump-start Taliban peace talks.

"Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour died of injuries," Sultan Faizi, the spokesman for the Afghan first vice-president, wrote on Twitter without citing any evidence.

The Taliban's main spokesman has dismissed the reports as propaganda from Afghan intelligence services meant to create divisions within the movement, saying Mansour is alive and well.

However, skepticism has been fueled by the secrecy that surrounded the death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, which was only confirmed in July, two years after he had died.

There has been no statement from Mansour himself so far, and Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said enhanced security measures meant it was taking some time to contact him directly.

"Well, we are trying to locate him through our people to get his voice and release it to the media to kill these rumors spread by the Afghan puppet government," Mujahid said.

The uncertainty has clouded prospects for any resumption in a peace process facilitated by Pakistan after talks broke down in July following the confirmation of Omar's death.

The reported clash, which exposes dissent within the Taliban's top ranks, comes just four months after Mansour was appointed leader in an acrimonious leadership succession.

If confirmed, his death could intensify the power struggle within the fractious group and increase the risk of internecine clashes.

Afghan officials are cautious about what the signs of increasing fragmentation in the Taliban could mean.

"The rift is certainly weakening the movement and if they are not one united force, it could be easier to convince them for peace or eliminate them," said one official, who asked not to be identified.

Reuters - AFP