PESHAWAR: The rival Afghan Taliban faction led by Mulla Mohammad Rasool has conceded that their deputy head and top commander Mansoor Dadullah has been wounded in an attack by fighters loyal to the leader of the mainstream Taliban group headed by Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor in Afghanistan’s Zabul province.
However, other sources and certain commanders of Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor have said that Mansoor Dadullah had been killed last night in the attack on a house where he was staying in the Khak-i-Afghan district in Zabul. The Afghan government’s security chief for Zabul, Ghulam JIlani Farahi also claimed that Mansoor Dadullah was killed in the fighting.
If true, this will be the biggest loss for the nascent Afghan Taliban’s breakaway faction that recently formally chose Mansoor Dadaullah as one of the deputy leaders of the group. This faction under Mulla Mohammad Rasool refused to accept Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor as the new head of the Taliban movement as successor to the late Mulla Mohammad Omar.
The fighters loyal to Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor and Mansoor Dadullah have been fighting each other for the last few days and some accounts said about 100 persons have been killed in the clashes on the two sides. Many Uzbekistanis affiliated to the Islamic State, or Daesh, who were close to Mansoor Dadullah had also reportedly joined the fighting to resist the fighters loyal to Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor.
The circumstances that led to Mansoor Dadullah’s injuries or possible death were unclear, but one Taliban commander loyal to Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor said Mansoor Dadullah was shot dead by one of his men protecting him in the house.