Taliban releases audio file to prove leader alive

The Taliban quickly provided audio recording of Abdullah Sarhadi, the Taliban shadow governor of Wardak province, in which he denied that he owned a house near Quetta or that he or Mulla Akhtar Mansour were wounded or killed in any shootout.

Afghan officials scrambled to establish whether Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour was still alive, after sources said he was critically wounded in a firefight following a bitter argument with commanders in the divided militant movement.

But doubts continued to linger among the group s senior ranks, who are distrustful of their leadership following a two-year cover-up, from 2013-2015, of the death of the Taliban s founder and first leader Mullah Omar. “I am among my colleagues”, Mansoor said, adding that he had not wanted to release the audio recording but was convinced to do so by his aides.

“I think it’s a faked audio. Mansour himself fooled us for two years, how can we trust this now?”

Mansour was appointed leader four months ago in an acrimonious leadership transition and his death, if confirmed, could intensify the power struggle within the fractious group.

“We need more proof”, he concluded. A day later, they claimed the Taliban leader had succumbed to his injuries.

There has been no meeting with any one in Kuchlak area of Pakistan for years and all the news stories about this are just a lie, he said. “This is propaganda of the enemy”, the man speaking on the message said.

“This audio was recorded yesterday by our leader Mansour, we were present”.

The Afghan leaders who used the media to spread the rumours show their weaknesses, he said.

“It will soon be made public”, Mujahid said on Twitter. “They should stay impartial”, the man claiming to be Mansour said.

They accused him of covering up Mullar Omar’s death.

Violent clashes between the two rival Taliban groups erupted in southern Afghanistan early last month that left several dead from both sides confirmed the rift.

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.

The claims over Mansoor’s death came after renewed efforts to revive peace talks with Taliban fighters.