Afghanistan insists Mullah Omar is dead amid Taliban's denial
Afghan intelligence agency made a vile claim that Mullah Omar was died in Karachi, Pakistan
KABUL (Dunya News/AFP) - Taliban supremo Mullah Omar died two years ago in Pakistan, Afghanistan said on Wednesday, after unnamed government and militant sources reported the demise of the reclusive warrior-cleric.
The insurgents have not officially confirmed the death of the supreme leader of the Taliban, who has not been seen publicly since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban government in Kabul.
Rumours of Omar s ill-health and even death have regularly surfaced in the past, but the latest claims -- just two days before fresh peace talks with the insurgents -- mark the first such confirmation from the Afghan government.
"The government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, based on credible information, confirms that Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of the Taliban died in April 2013 in Pakistan," a statement from the presidential palace claimed.
Haseeb Sediqi, the spokesman for the National Directorate of Security, claimed that Omar died in a Karachi hospital "under mysterious circumstances".
Omar s death would mark a significant blow to an almost 14-year insurgency, which is riven by internal divisions and threatened by the rise of the Islamic State group in South Asia.
The official announcement comes after unnamed government and militant sources told media, including AFP, that the one-eyed leader died two or three years ago, and after the Afghan government said it was investigating reports of the death.
"We can confirm that Mullah Omar died two years ago... in Pakistan due to an illness," a senior official in Afghanistan s national unity government told AFP earlier.
"He was buried in Zabul province (in southern Afghanistan)," said the official, citing Afghan intelligence sources.
Omar s death could trigger a power struggle within the Taliban, observers say, with insurgent sources claiming that Mullah Mansour, the current deputy, and Omar s son Mohammad Yakoub are both top contenders to replace him.
Taliban’s denial
Earlier, Afghan Taliban spokesperson on Wednesday denied the reports that their leader Mullah Omar was dead, Dunya News reported citing US media.
According to US broadcast media outlet the Voice of America, Afghan Taliban have denied the reports of death of their leader.
The Afghan Taliban have reportedly said that their chief is alive and that the reports of his death are mere rumours.
They said that Omar is alive and is reclusive at this point.
Reports of Taliban chief’s death have surfaced several times in the past as well.
