KABUL - Afghan officials claimed Thursday that Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, a deputy to the splinter faction's leader Mullah Mohammad Rasool, was killed late Wednesday.

Ghulam Kelani Farahi, a senior police official in the southeastern Zabul province, told media that Dadullah was "lured into a trap" and killed by the main Taliban group, headed by Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.

Mansoor was elected by a Taliban council as the leader of the militant group after former commander Mullah Omar was declared dead in July.

Farahi's claim could not be verified due to the heavy fighting between the rival Taliban factions in the Zabul province.

 A picture made available on 01 August 2015 shows an unidentified child from a militant of Islamic State (IS) playing with an AK-47 rifle as the text on the wall reads in Arabic 'Islamic State - Khurasan Chapter' at an undisclosed location in Kunar province, Afghanistan, 30 July 2015

"When the other bodyguards were not paying attention, this Mansoor man opened fire on Dadullah and killed him," the Taliban commander told the AP on condition of anonymity.

But the Rasool faction was quick to deny the claims: "He (Dadullah) is safe and sound. We know Mullah Mansoor and his men are now spreading rumors about his killing as they suffered heavy losses at the hands of Dadullah and his fighters in Zabul," Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, the faction spokesman, said.

Siegfried O. Wolf, Director of research at the Brussels-based South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), said the killing of Dadullah might strengthen the position of Mullah Mansoor. "But this would be only a temporary advantage," he told DW.

Intense clashes

The clashes in southern Afghanistan killed about 60 of Rasool's followers and 20 militants associated with Mansoor during the weekend, according to Farahi.

The opponents of the widely-recognized Taliban head, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, elected Rasool "supreme leader" earlier this week.

 The Taliban militants showing Mullah Muhammad Akhtar Mansoor, the newly appointed leader of Afghan Talibans after the death of Mullah Muhammad Omar

Mullah Mansoor succeeded Mullah Omar as leader of the main Taliban group in July

Among the dead militants who were fighting for the breakaway group are "foreign fighters from Uzbekistan," Farahi said, adding that another 30 people were wounded.

The battle in Zabul is the first instance of rivalry between Taliban leaders bursting into the open. (DW)