JAKARTA - The Taliban have denied reports that one of their main leaders has been killed in a shootout with rivals, following rumors of an internal division of the group's elite since its successful takeover of Kabul last month.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the former head of the Taliban's political office who was appointed deputy prime minister last week, issued a voicemail rejecting claims he had been killed or injured in clashes.
"He said it was a lie and completely unfounded," Shaheen said in a message on Twitter, citing Reuters Tuesday, September 14.
The Taliban also released video footage purportedly showing Baradar at a gathering in the southern city of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
The denial followed days of rumors that Baradar's supporters had clashed with supporters of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Haqqani network based near the border with Pakistan. In the new government structure, Haqqani was appointed as Minister of Home Affairs.
The rumors follow speculation about a possible rivalry between military commanders such as Haqqani and leaders from political offices in Doha such as Baradar, who is leading diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with the United States. The Taliban have repeatedly denied speculation about internal divisions.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, once considered the head of the Taliban government, has not been seen in public in recent times, including at a meeting of the new Afghan government created by the Taliban with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Kabul on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the movement's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has also not been seen in public since the Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, although he did make public statements when the new government was formed last week.
Speculation about Taliban leaders has been fueled by the circumstances surrounding the death of the movement's founder, Mullah Omar, only announced in 2015 or two years after the charismatic leader's death, sparking bitter accusations among the Taliban elite.
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