The Taliban have denied that their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed in Pakistan, after Afghan TV channel TOLO reported his death on Monday.
“Emir al Mu’minin (Mullah Omar) is alive and in good health…he is living in a safe place,” the Taliban leadership said in a statement published on the Voice of Jihad website.
The Taliban said the report of his death was a propaganda spoof, created by the “occupation forces.”
Omar is wanted by the FBI for sheltering al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda militants before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan.
Little else is known about Omar, whose death has been reported on at least one previous occasion.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on May 2 that Omar should be the next target in the fight against terrorism, following the killing of Osama bin Laden.
MOSCOW, May 23 (RIA Novosti)