Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour Reported Either Injured or Dead in

The firefight is said to have erupted spontaneously at a meeting between Taliban commanders near the Pakistani city of Quetta according to an unnamed Pakistani intelligence official, though a Taliban spokesperson said the claims were “absolutely baseless”.

At least six other Taliban fighters, including Mansoor’s bodyguard, were killed in the shootout, another source said.

The Afghan vice presidential spokesman Faizi said Mansur had attended a meeting of Taliban commanders on December 1 in the Kachlakh area of Quetta, Pakistan.

Hours after reports surfaced about Mansour’s purported wounding, the Afghan Taliban published a statement on its website, saying the group “categorically reject[s] this fabricated claim of the enemy intelligence apparatus”.

Mansoor succeeded Afghan Taliban founder Mullah Omar in August after the news of Omar’s death in 2013 became public earlier this year.

Recent reports suggest one of the leaders of the breakaway Taliban faction, Mullah Dadullah, was killed in recent fighting with militants loyal to Mullah Mansour.

The Taliban issued a statement on Thursday, dismissing the reports of Mansoor’s injuries as basdeless.

Compared to Mullah Omar, his secretive predecessor, Mullah Mansour has adopted an open approach and has met Taliban commanders regularly to discuss their policy concerns, our correspondent says.

Mansoor was present with his guards in the house of Taliban leader Abdullah Sarhadi, a commander in Mansour’s group and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, when the shooting began.

But a leadership tussle immediately ensued, with some Taliban commanders refusing to recognize Mansur.

Frequent clashes between Mansoor’s faction and another tied to Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund have divided the group at a time when the “Islamic State” is making inroads into Afghanistan. The group also launched an assault on the city of Kunduz in September, capturing it before Afghan forces conducted a counter-offensive to wrestle it back from the militants.

Pakistan, which wields considerable influence over the militants, hosted a historic first round of peace negotiations in July.

Kabul has repeatedly accused Islamabad of aiding the Taliban.

Rasool’s hardline faction, reported to be aligned to the Islamic State group, also poses a major challenge to peace talks with the government.