Apparent elimination of Mansour could also spark new succession battles

Afghanistan's spy agency said on Sunday Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US bombing raid, the first confirmation from officials of his death, which marks a potential blow to the resurgent militant movement.

The Taliban have not commented officially on the very rare US drone attack deep inside Pakistan on Saturday, authorized by President Barack Obama, which could scupper any immediate prospect of peace talks.