Internal rifts: Senior Afghan Taliban commander killed

Gunmen shoot dead close aide of the new Taliban chief

ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be a result of internal rifts, unidentified assailants shot dead an influential Afghan Taliban commander near Quetta.

Maulvi Muhammad Alam, a loyal commander to the new Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, was gunned down on Thursday in Kuchlak about 25 kilometres from Quetta, two Taliban officials, requesting not to be named, said on Friday.

Maulvi Muhammad Alam was among the senior Taliban commanders, who had fought against dissident Taliban fighters in parts of Afghanistan’s Zabul province.

“I can confirm that Maulvi Muhammad Alam has been martyred. Investigations are underway but we do not have any details as to who is behind the incident. He was living as an ordinary refugee,” said a Taliban leader, who was aware of the incident.

A splinter Taliban group – Fidaye Mahaz – claimed responsibility for the attack. The group's spokesman, Qari Hamza, said Maulvi Alam was killed to avenge the Zabul killings.

Another Afghan Taliban leader said they were investigating the motive behind, what he termed, a high-profile assassination.

Sources say the slain commander had led fighters against the Taliban dissidents in Zabul province in recent days.

Reportedly another top Taliban commander, Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, who had rejected Mullah Mansoor as the new chief, was among the rivals killed in the fights last month.

Although the Taliban routinely blame the Afghan intelligence for such targeted killings, some sources said it could be the result of the internal rivalry.

A Taliban leader said that Maulvi Alam had strong influence in Zabul and also sheltered many foreign fighters.

The latest assassination of a senior Taliban commander highlights a possible trend of revenge attacks.

Even before the recent controversy over the election of a new leader, several Afghan Taliban leaders had been killed in Balochistan.

Militants of Fidaye Mahaz were also involved in targeted attacks against the supporters of Mullah Mansour last year. When the brother of Mahaz chief Maulvi Najeebullah was killed in an attack near Quetta, the group’s spokesman had blamed the Taliban for the murder. In Afghanistan, the Taliban factions agreed on a ceasefire in Herat province last month after religious scholars intervened and issued a decree to declare infighting against Islamic teachings.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2016.