In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Mullah Mohammed Rasool, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, speaks during a gathering in Farah province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan police official says a senior figure of a breakaway Taliban faction has been killed in battle between rival insurgent groups in southeastern Afghanistan.
Gulam Jelani Farahi, deputy police chief of Zabul province, said Thursday that Mullah Mansoor Dadullah was lured into a trap and killed by members of the main Taliban group in the province's Khakar-e-Afghan district.
Farahi says Dadullah - who acted as a deputy to the splinter faction's leader Mullah Mohammad Rasool - was killed late Wednesday.
Farahi's claim couldn't be independently confirmed and the breakaway faction did not report it. The area of inter-Taliban fighting is inaccessible to reporters.
Rasool's faction had disputed the legitimacy of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who became Taliban leader after the announcement in July that founder Mullah Mohammad Omar was dead.
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammed Rasool, unseen, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, in Farah province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Mullah Mohammed Rasool, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban speaks during a gathering in Farah province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammed Rasool, unseen, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, in Farah province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammed Rasool, unseen, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, in Farah province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press