Leader of breakaway Taliban faction killed in infighting: Afghan official

A senior figure of a breakaway Taliban faction has been killed in a recent wave of intense infighting between rival militants in southern Afghanistan, local officials say.

Ghulam Jailani Farahi, security chief in the southern province of Zabul, said Mullah Mansour Dadullah was killed by fighters loyal to widely-recognized Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in the troubled region on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, a regional Taliban commander, told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Dadullah, the senior of the splinter group led by Mullah Mohammad Rasoul, was gunned down by one of his bodyguards “who was working as a spy” for Mansour.

“When the other bodyguards were not paying attention, this Mansour man opened fire on Dadullah and killed him,” said the Taliban source.

Controversy and confusion still surrounds the reports as Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, a spokesman for Dadullah’s faction, dismissed claims of his death.

“He is safe and sound,” Reuters news agency quoted Niazi as saying, adding, “We know Mullah Mansour and his men are now spreading rumors about his killing as they suffered heavy losses at the hands of Mansour Dadullah and his fighters in Zabul.”

Mansour has recently dispatched hundreds of militants on motorcycles to Zabul in a bid to curb Dadullah’s mutiny.

The developments come as Taliban has seen a string of defections in recent months following the news of the death of Mullah Omar, the former leader of the Afghan militant group.

Taliban said they had concealed his death for two years as they did not want to make it public until foreign forces would have ended their fight against the militants in Afghanistan.

In early November, a number of Taliban militants took issue with Mullah Mansour, forming a splinter group and picking another leader, Rasoul, for themselves.

Dadullah had a turbulent and chaotic relationship with the Taliban leadership over the past years. In 2007, Mullah Omar stripped him of his military duties during a spat with the Taliban leadership. He also spent several years in Pakistani custody before being released in 2013.

Dadullah, who refused to swear allegiance to the new Taliban chief, said the Taliban leaders are cherry-picked by Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The developments come as the Takfiri Daesh militants have also been increasing their presence in Afghanistan.

Foreign troops and Afghan forces have failed to maintain security across Afghanistan 14 years after the United States and its NATO allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

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