News / Afghanistan

Taliban sources cast doubt over Mullah Mansour death rumors

Sunday, 06 December 2015 2:44 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 06 December 2015 5:12 PM ]

Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour

Militant sources have cast doubt on the authenticity of a purported audio message dismissing reports of the alleged death of the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.

On Sunday, Mawlawi Hanifi, a senior militants commander based in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, argued that the Taliban has been covering up the death of its longtime chief Mullah Omar secret for two years.

"I listened to the clip and it looks fake. I think his voice has been mimicked. Mansour himself fooled us for two years, how can we trust this now?" he said.

Another senior Taliban source told AFP news agency that the audio clip was a tactic by Mansour’s supporters to buy time to select a new leader and bring their group out of "this sudden shock," adding, "We need more proof."

In the 16-minute voice recording, which was emailed to media by a Taliban spokesman on Saturday, the voice, purportedly belonging to Mullah Mansour, says the rumors about his death are intentionally spread to create rifts in Taliban.

“I have recorded my message to let everyone know that I am alive. There is no truth to the rumors that I was injured or killed in Kuchlak” near Quetta, in the southwestern province of Balochistan in Pakistan, said the man claiming to be the terrorist group's leader. “That incident never happened. This is enemy propaganda. I haven't seen Kuchlak in years.”

It was not possible to verify whether the voice was Masour’s.

Afghan officials and local media said on Wednesday that at least four people were killed and a number of others sustained injuries in a fierce gunfight that occurred during a Taliban's gathering in the Pakistani town, saying Mansour was among the wounded.

Unconfirmed reports on Friday claimed that he had succumbed to his wounds.

A photo published in the Long War Journal on June 16, 2015, shows the new Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.

The Taliban have seen a string of defections in recent months following the news of the death of Mullah Omar, the former leader of the Afghan militant group.

Splinter groups within Taliban have refused to pledge allegiance to Mansour, who was elected in late July after the announcement of the 2013 death of Mullah Omar.

There have also been growing differences among Taliban elements over peace talks with the Afghan government, with some vowing to fight for power instead of taking part in negotiations.

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