IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Afghanistan

Taliban deny leader being wounded

Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has released a rare audio recording in which he denies claims by an Afghan official that he was wounded in a shootout during a meeting with other commanders in Pakistan last week. In a 17-minute audio recording sent to media by the Taliban late on Saturday, Mansoor dismissed what he called "baseless claims" that were "part of the agenda of the enemy". The Taliban had earlier sent The Associated Press a two-minute version of the recording.