Taliban Releases Audio Message to Show Leader Alive

Rahimullah Yousufzai, a Pakistani analyst and long-time observer of the Taliban, said the voice sounded like Mansour’s.

The voice in the 17-minute recording is reported to be similar to previous recordings of Mansoor and Afghan officials said they were working to verify the clip.

The statement followed days of uncertainty over the fate of the Taliban leader, after multiple reports said he had been badly wounded in the shootout at the home of another commander in Quetta, western Pakistan, late on Tuesday. He died in 2013 but this was not confirmed until two years later.

“I believe it is him”, he said, but added that questions would be asked over the delay in releasing the clip.

“Brothers, this news is baseless, there is no doubt, this is the propaganda from the enemy”.

Several Taliban members close to both Mansour and a rival faction that rejects his authority had said that he had been seriously wounded and taken to hospital.

In his audio message, Mansoor also said that the Taliban “won’t agree to have peace talks if our demands are not met”.

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.

Vehement denials by the Islamist group of any shoot-out had fallen on sceptical ears, especially after they kept the death of longtime chief Mullah Omar secret for two years.

Mansoor also referred to a battle between Afghan forces and the Taliban in Wardak province on Friday, which killed a number of civilians.

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

Last month, the breakaway faction of the Taliban elected its own leader, Mullah Mohammed Rasool Akhund, sparking speculation over the unity of the group.

The negotiations were postponed after the announcement of the Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s death in late July, and his replacement by Mansoor.

Mansour was declared Taliban leader on July 31, but splits immediately emerged in the group, with some top leaders refusing to pledge their allegiance to the new leader saying the process to select him was rushed and biased.

A renewed regional push to jump-start peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban could be derailed should it be confirmed that Mansoor had died.

Mullah Mansour was among a handful of Taliban figures who knew of Mullah Omar’s death, leading the group in his name and even releasing messages on his behalf.