Kabul official says Afghan Taliban leader wounded in firefight in Pakistan

Sarhadi and at least six Taliban militants were killed in the firefight, while Mansour was taken to hospital after being “critically” injured, Fayzi said.

“We are trying to establish whether Mansoor is dead or alive”, said Afghanistan spokesman Sultan Faizi.

Afghan officials said Mansoor was injured during a meeting of the Afghan Taliban in Kuchlak area, some 25 km east of Quetta, the provincial capital, on Wednesday.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that any such firefight took place but an Afghan intelligence source confirmed Faizi’s account, and insurgent sources also told AFP that Mansour had been injured.

Another report said Mullah Mansour died but this is unconfirmed.

After Mansour was named Omar’s successor, another key Taliban leader, Mullah Rasool, announced a rival leadership group that was challenging Mansour’s rule.

Sarhadi was held for more than three years in the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

The source near the Taliban said the dismissal appeared to be spontaneous rather than planned.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif voiced a willingness to revive stalled peace talks when the two met briefly on the sidelines of a climate-change conference in Paris on December 1.

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

Responding to Taliban denials of a gun battle taking place, a Western official in the Afghan capital Kabul said the movement may come under pressure to provide “proof-of-life” of their leader.

Although the elders, government officials and Taliban commanders all agreed that Mullah Dadullah had been killed, and rumors of his death had been circulating for weeks, his spokesman still insists that he is alive, though wounded.

Mullah Mansour’s appointment sparked splits within the Taliban after its founder Mullah Omar’s death emerged in July.

The fissures began to show four months back when Mansoor was hurriedly made Taliban’s new leader.

Last month, the breakaway faction of the Taliban elected its own leader, Mullah Mohammed Rasool Akhund, sparking speculation over the unity of the group. “Pakistan does not believe in any blame game, and instead would like to make renewed efforts to resurrect the peace and reconciliation process”, he said, adding that it would have to be an Afghan-led process.