Afghan officials say Mullah Omar, Taliban leader, may be dead
The reclusive leader of the Taliban hasn't been seen in public for more than a decade. The group is engaged in peace talks with the Afghan government.
The reclusive leader of the Taliban hasn't been seen in public for more than a decade. The group is engaged in peace talks with the Afghan government.
Afghan officials are working to confirm reports that Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead, just ahead of a new round of peace talks in Pakistan between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
At a last-minute press conference,聽Zafar Hashemi, a deputy spokesman聽for the president,聽said that they were 鈥渁ware of the reports of the passing of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader. We are still in the process of checking those reports,鈥� according to the Associated Press.
The BBC says that "top sources within the Afghan administration and intelligence agency" had made the claims. The Taliban haven't yet commented on the reports.聽
Mullah Omar hasn鈥檛 been seen in public for years, and rumors of his death periodically crop up. An Afghan official told The Wall Street Journal that聽Kabul was informed of his death by Pakistan two years ago. A Pakistani official told AP that this latest report is 鈥�'speculation' designed to disrupt peace talks.鈥澛�
The Taliban reportedly are divided over the talks, with some wanting to continue the insurgency they have been waging since the US came in 2001.
The peace talks come as the Taliban are struggling to hold on to their fighters, some of whom are attracted to the high-profile success of the so-called Islamic State. The Taliban have staged a series of 鈥渁udacious attacks鈥� to try and stave off defections, 海角大神聽reported last month聽after a suicide attack in Kabul.
Last month Mullah Omar supposedly wrote a message backing the peace talks, but because the text posted on the Taliban website did not include any audio or video, it聽fueled rumors of his death, according to the BBC.
The assumption that he is dead helped drive several Taliban leaders to defect to IS, according to the BBC. And any confirmation of his death could spur more defections,聽particularly among those opposed to peace talks with the Afghan government.聽
Mullah Omar came to power after the Taliban emerged as the strongest force in the civil war that followed the pullout of Soviet forces.聽He later allied with Osama bin Laden, which put the Taliban in the crosshairs of the US after the 9/11 attacks. He has barely been heard from since then and has a $10 million bounty on his head.
The Taliban are not the only organization struggling to prove their continued relevance. The surging power and influence of IS has also sidelined Al Qaeda, which is trying to stem a wave of defections.