Mullah Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Taliban, ‘died 2 years ago’

THE one- eyed leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, died in Pakistan two years ago, Afghan officials have claimed.

One of the most wanted men in the world, Omar – who sheltered Osama Bin Laden before the September 11 attacks – has not been seen in public since late 2001.

His last statement in July was a document rather than a video or audio recording, which fuelled rumours that he had died.

Abdul Hassib Seddiqi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Directorate of Security, said yesterday: ‘We confirm officially that he is dead. He was very sick in a Karachi hospital and died suspiciously there in April 2013.’

A statement from the office of Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said the rumour was based on ‘credible information’. And the President’s spokesman Zafar Hashemi said: ‘We are still checking these reports and as soon as we get verification, we will inform the media.’

Last night Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi insisted Omar, pictured, was ‘alive and leading the movement’. But sources at the Taliban’s councils in Pakistan said they were now in talks to pick a replacement. This is not the first time Omar – who had a $10million bounty placed on his head by the US – has been declared dead.

However the latest claims are being taken far more seriously, as this is the first time his death has been confirmed by highranking Afghan officials.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Pakistani security services – who have always denied that Omar was hiding in the country, where Bin Laden was tracked down and killed – called the new rumours pure ‘speculation’. They insisted the announcement was an attempt to derail the latest round of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which are being held in Pakistan this week. The talks are aimed at ending the war between the government and the Taliban, which is nearing its 14th year.

Omar’s last statement appeared to back a truce towards the Afghan government, with the aim of removing foreign forces from the country. But the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ of the Taliban previously led insurgency against US-led forces, before disappearing from view for more than a decade. Last night the White House said the reports of Mullah Omar’s death were ‘credible’.