Taliban leader wounded in gunfight

The Afghan authorities said that the factions had clashed over suspension of the membership of four members of the Taliban Shura.

Faizy says there was an argument, followed by shooting that wounded Mansoor and killed six Taliban figures, including Sarhadi.

The sources differed on the location of the confrontation, with the insurgents saying it took place near Kandahar, the main city of southern Afghanistan and the birthplace of the Taliban, while other sources said it was in the Pakistani city of Quetta, a historic Taliban refuge.

But they all agreed the meeting was at the home of Abdullah Sarhadi, a commander in Mansour’s group and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.

Mullah Dadullah was a respected senior Taliban commander when he split from Mullah Mansour over the revelation this summer that the group’s supreme leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, had been dead for at least two years.

“During the discussion, some senior people developed differences and they opened fire at each other”, a senior Taliban commander said. Finally, the Taliban set off a large bomb, killing everyone inside the house, including Mullah Haqmal and several Uzbek fighters loyal to the Islamic State, the local elders said.

The conflicting accounts deepen the confusion over the already opaque leadership situation in the Taliban following the death of the movement’s founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and cloud prospects for any resumption of stalled peace talks. Sultan Faizi, a spokesman for the Afghan 1st vice president, stated Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour had been hurt.

In the event the splinter faction were behind the assault it’s not supported.