Afghan Taliban leader Mansour wounded in gunfight

Sultan Faizi, the spokesman for Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, said on Wednesday that Mansour was wounded in a firefight following a verbal argument at a meeting of senior militant commanders.

There were varying accounts of just what might have occurred in the incident, with some sources saying it took place near the boundary with Pakistan’s Balochistan province in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

Afghan officers consider Mansour was both gravely injured or died before he might reach a Pakistani hospital.

But splits immediately emerged in the movement following his appointment, with some top leaders refusing to pledge allegiance to him, saying the process to select him was rushed and even biased.

The Afghan Taliban has been divided into two factions after Mansoor succeeded former Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar as the hardliner group’s new leader.

“Up to eight terrorists were killed, several wounded and one was arrested when Afghan security forces carried out cleanup operations over the past 24 hours”, the ministry said in a statement providing operational updates, Xinhua reported.

President Ashraf Ghani has expressed interest in improving relations with Islamabad before a possible return to stalled peace talks with Taliban insurgents.

A group allied with the Taliban has been holding a USA man hostage for more than a year in a case that previously had not been disclosed, according to a published report citing US officials and others familiar with his case.

Fledgling peace discussions were disturbed by news of his passing between the Taliban as well as the Afghan authorities.

“Mansour’s death, if confirmed, will be the ultimate blow to the Taliban, leading to further fragmentation of the group”.

She said at the General Assembly, she had presented Pakistan’s viewpoint emphasizing the need for revival of peace talks that began in Murree, where Pakistan hosted first round of the talks.

The Taliban has faced serious internal divisions since it was confirmed in July that Mullah Omar had actually died two years earlier.

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.

“We have no access to Mullah Mansour after the incident last night”.