Afghan intelligence: Taliban leader Mullah Omar dead

Taliban leader Mullah Omar died two years ago, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency spokesman Haseeb Sediqi said today.

“We confirm officially that he is dead”, Abdul Hassib Seddiqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, told The Associated Press.

According to the report, Omar died two years ago from Tuberculosis, but if these claims are true, it means the Taliban published a biography of their supreme leader after he was already dead.

The Taliban commented that Mullah Omar was still alive and leading the movement, while supporters in Pakistan have denied the reports as “speculation”.

Joscelyn noted that the Taliban have routinely released statements attributed to Omar each year, including just recently. ‘As soon as we get any more authentication… we’re going to let the media and the people of Afghanistan know about that, ‘ Sayed Zafar Hashemi said.

It is widely believed that the Taliban has split between supporters and detractors of the peace talks as their war on the Afghan government has intensified in recent months. They usually came from secondhand sources, were made behind closed doors, or lacked direct confirmation from the government.

Intelligence reports in 2014 indicated that, in the event of his death, Omar had given his trusted friend Mullah Mansoor authority to take over.

“If you’re the Taliban, and you’re thinking long term about reaching an agreement and coming back into the political fold, your leader can’t be reclusive anymore”, Asad Ali, a London-based country risk analyst IHS Inc., said by phone.

The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to journalists about the situation. In June, the Taliban pulled off one of its most brazen strikes yet, attacking the Afghan parliament.

The strategy has spread Afghan military resources very thin as U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces ended their combat mission in the country at the end of past year.

Mullah Mohammed Omar was the definition of elusive.

The White House said it was aware of reports of the death of Omar and believed them to be “credible”.

Omar’s Taliban ranks were largely filled by young men who grew up as refugees in Pakistan during the Soviet occupation and the following civil wars. He was Afghanistan’s head of state from 1996 to 2001.

It was Omar’s backing for al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks that sparked the US-led campaign in Afghanistan.

November. 13, 2001 – Taliban fighters abandon Kabul after weeks of air assaults.

The message said that despite the departure of U.S. troops it was “still obligatory upon us to continue our sacred Jihad… and restore an Islamic system”.

December. 7, 2001 – Taliban stronghold Kandahar falls to U.S. forces and Afghan supporters.

The notorious extremist group leader was rarely seen in public. His only communication with the outside world has been by messages posted on Taliban controlled web sites. While members of Afghanistan’s intelligence services have said for years that he was dead, militants maintained he was still in charge and running operations from the lawless Afghanistan-Pakistan border.