Taleban leader Mullah Omar has dismissed one of his top military commanders, Mansoor Dadullah, accusing him of not following orders.
Mansoor succeeded his elder brother Mullah Dadullah when he was killed in a joint Afghan/Nato operation in May.
He was the highest-ranking Taleban official to be killed since 2001.
A Taleban statement did not say how Mansoor Dadullah had disobeyed orders. But it said his associates should carry on with their duties as usual.
Intense attacks
"Mansoor Dadullah does not obey the rules of the Islamic emirate and violates it.
"Therefore it was decided not to appoint any post in the emirate to him," the statement said.
Mansoor Dadullah has been heading Taleban operations in Helmand, Kandahar and other southern provinces where attacks against the Kabul government and international forces are most intense.
His brother was thought to have been the mastermind of Taleban military operations after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
He was said to be particularly close to the Taleban leader Mullah Omar.
Mullah Omar himself has eluded capture by the Afghan and US authorities despite a multi-million dollar reward offer.
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