Afghan officials confirmed - today, Wednesday - that the Taliban killed a former leader in the movement, known to be the first leader of the group from the Shiite Hazara minority, and indicated that he was a rebellion against the de facto government of the country.
The Ministry of Defense said - in a statement - that Mawlawi Mahdi was shot dead by Taliban forces near the border with Iran, while trying to flee the country.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense stated to Al-Jazeera that the defected Taliban commander, Mawlawi Mahdi, was killed in a clash with security near the border with Iran.
Mehdi's appointment as commander a few years ago was described as an example of the Taliban's changing attitude toward minorities, and was brought into the spotlight after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of Western forces last year.
The Taliban is a Sunni movement, previously associated almost exclusively with ethnic Pashtuns, but recently it has sought to include members of other ethnicities and some Shiites.
Concentrated in the mountains of central Afghanistan, the Hazara are the largest Shiite ethnic group in the country.
After the Taliban formed the government last year, Mahdi was appointed director of intelligence in a central province.
The reasons for the dispute between Mahdi and the Taliban have not been made public, but since June the Ministry of Defense has announced a purge against insurgents in northern Afghanistan.
Today, Wednesday, the ministry described Mehdi as the "rebel leader" in an area in the northern state of Saribul.
A source in the Taliban told Reuters that Mahdi fell out with the Taliban and rebelled against the movement's leadership.
The statement stated that he was killed in Herat, near the border with Iran, as he was trying to escape.
Reuters was not able to contact representatives for Mahdi for comment.