In the audio message, Mansoor denies claims of his involvement in a gunfight and says he is 'safe and healthy'. (Reuters photo)
The Afghan Taliban issued an audio message on Saturday and claimed it was from their chief Mullah Akhtar Nuhammed Mansoor, denying reports of his death or injury in a firefight in Pakistan.
In the audio message, the Taliban leader purportedly denies claims of his involvement in a gunfight and says he is 'safe and healthy'. He describes the reports of his death as 'enemy propaganda'. He also puts conditions for peace talks and rejects the possibility of a third-party playing a role.
NDTV could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Afghan and Pakistani officials have been quoted as saying Mullah Mansour was injured or killed in a gunfight between rival factions on Tuesday. The officials were quoted as saying Mullah Mansoor was killed at a peace meeting between him and Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi -- a follower of Mullah Mansour Dadullah, a rival in a Quetta suburb.
Mullah Mansoor officially replaced Mullah Omar as the self-proclaimed 'leader of the faithful' - the Amir-e-Momineen in July. This after the Taliban finally admitted Mullah Omar had died two years ago. The events made it clear that Mullah Mansoor had been acting as the de-facto head using the name of Mullah Omar. There has been major infighting in the Afghan Taliban, since, with Mullah Mansoor's authority being disputed by rival factions.