The Taliban’s main spokesperson said on Saturday that he had received an audio statement from Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the Taliban leader reported to have been wounded or killed in a gunfight in Pakista
The Taliban’s main spokesperson said on Saturday that he had received an audio statement from Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the Taliban leader reported to have been wounded or killed in a gunfight in Pakistan this week, and would release it shortly.
The statement on Twitter followed days of uncertainty over the fate of Mansour, after multiple reports said he had been badly wounded in the shootout at the home of another Taliban commander in Quetta, western Pakistan, late on Tuesday.
“A new message from the leader of Islamic Emirate, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour has just reached us. It will be released soon,” Zabihulla Mujahid said.
The militant movement, which saw its first formal split in November, has appeared anxious to quell speculation about Mansour’s fate.
Scepticism over the Taliban denials has been fueled by the secrecy which surrounded the death of the movement’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar. He died in 2013 but this was not confirmed until two years later.
Mansour, the longtime number two in the Taliban, was formally named leader immediately after Mullah Omar’s death was confirmed.
However his authority has been rejected by some factions in the Taliban who have accused him of covering up Mullah Omar’s death and seizing power without proper authority.
“The Taliban is suffering from a credibility crisis after they admitted to hiding Omar’s death for years,” Kabul-based military analyst Jawed Kohistani said.
“But they will do everything in their power to conceal Mansour’s injury or death, which could provoke fresh infighting within the group or lead to further fragmentation.”
A breakaway faction of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool was formed in November, in the first formal division in the once-unified group.
A senior Pakistani intelligence official said that Mansour had been “very seriously injured” in what he described as a “heavy exchange of fire” at a gathering of militant commanders near the Pakistani city of Quetta.
