"Each time there was a [coalition] strike the man would disappear and then reappear after the bombing was over," Atal said. "He has now confessed."
The Afghan national intelligence department in Kabul said that Dadullah had been tracked "with [the] most modern intelligence technology from the Pakistani border before being killed."
Three Taliban prisoners, among five senior militant commanders controversially freed early this year in return for the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist, died alongside Dadullah, Afghanistan security officials said.
The continual attrition of high-level commanders has hindered efforts by the Taliban to launch a major "spring offensive."
However, it has successfully maintained a relatively high rate of suicide bombings and similar attacks and has maintained its hold over large portions of southern and southeastern Afghanistan.
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a senior Pakistani journalist and expert on the Taliban, said "suspicion is now falling even on trusted men and is creating tension in Taliban ranks."
Dadullah Mansoor, brother and replacement of Mullah Dadullah, on Friday pledged to continue fighting the "Western occupation" of Afghanistan.
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