Senior Taliban dissident believed dead

ISLAMABAD:

Fighters loyal to the new Afghan Taliban chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, have killed a senior dissident commander, Mansoor Dadullah, in Zabul, according to reports coming out of the war-torn country.

The slain commander was appointed the deputy of a Taliban breakaway group after some dissident militant leaders formally appointed Mullah Abdul Rasool as their chief earlier this month. Afghan officials say infighting among Taliban has left dozens dead on both sides.

A former Taliban leader told The Express Tribune from Afghanistan that Dadullah, who had rejected the leadership Mullah Akhtar, was killed early Thursday inside his hideout.

A pro-Taliban website reported that Dadullah was killed inside a house where he had been hiding with some of his supporters. “Mansoor Dadullah’s hideout in Khak-e-Afghan district was dynamited and he died along with four other people,” news website Nunn.Asia reported.

It is unclear who carried out the attack. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid did not respond to a query.

However, another leader of the dissident group, Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, denied reports of Dadullah’s death. “It is completely false. We talked to him today. He is currently living in Deh Chopan area and is fighting on the frontline. There is no problem,” he told The Express Tribune from Afghanistan’s Herat province.

Radio Azadi, Radio Free Europe’s Afghan channel, earlier quoted Niazi confirming that Dadullah had been injured in the fighting.

Another splinter group, Fiday Mahaz, said the fighters from Mullah Akhtar group had carried out a suicide attack against the supporters of Dadullah. However, “he was not there at the time of the attack,” the group’s spokesperson said.

Afghan news agency Pajhwok quoted Zabul police chief Ghulam Jilani Farahi, as saying that Dadullah was killed late Wednesday in Khak-e-Afghan district.

A day earlier, a Taliban statement had accused Dadullah of joining Dai’sh, or the Islamic State, and blamed him of executing seven Hazaras. Thousands took to the streets in Kabul on Wednesday to condemn the beheadings.

Dadullah who?

One of most powerful commanders among the dissident leaders, Dadullah was appointed deputy to Mullah Abdul Rasool recently.  He also headed the Dadullah Mahaz (Dadullah Front) – a group named after his brother Mullah Dadullah Akhund, a top Taliban military commander who was killed by the British and Afghan troops in Helmand in 2007.

Dadullah lived in Zhob district of Balochistan and left Pakistan this year. He had been in Pakistan’s detention for over four years. He had previously supported Mullah Omar’s son and brother to head the Taliban after their father’s death.

Dadullah was known for his close association with the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda and Uzbek militants. Dai’sh had also contacted him.

Even before joining the splinter group, Dadullah was the rival of Mullah Akhtar as he believed the new chief had been behind the killing of his brother. He also believed Mullah Omar had been killed and did not die a natural death.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2015.