Taliban leader at talks a fake,paid large sum

For months,the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise

For months,the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise,if only because of the appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour,one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement.

But it turns out,Mansour was not Mansour at all. In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel,US and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor.

Its not him, said a Western diplomat in Kabul involved in the discussions. And we gave him a lot of money. US officials confirmed Monday that they had given up hope that the Afghan was Mansour,or even a member of the Taliban leadership. NATO and Afghan officials said they held three meetings with the man,who travelled from in Pakistan,where Taliban leaders have taken refuge.

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The fake Taliban head even met President Hamid Karzai,having been flown to Kabul on a NATO aircraft. US officials say they were skeptical from the start about the identity of the man who claimed to be Mullah Mansour who by some accounts is the second-ranking official in the Taliban,behind Mullah Mohammed Omar. Serious doubts arose after the third meeting with Afghan officials. A man who had known Mansour years ago said the man at the table did not resemble him.

The Western diplomat said the man was given a sizable sum of money participate in talks.