Contradictory Reports on Death of Taliban Leader Continue

TEHRAN (FNA)- As contradictory reports on the death of the Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, continued for a second day on Tuesday, his unknown fate went into dark after an Afghan spokesman said Mullah Omar has gone missing for the last four days.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, Spokesman for Afghanistan's Directorate of National Security Lotfollah Mashal said, "He (Mullah Omar) has disappeared from his residence in the Pakistani city of Quetta and lost contact with his close aides."

"According to some reports, he went missing in Baluchistan province (in Pakistan) four days ago, and senior Taliban officials have failed to establish a contact with him since then," he noted.

However, Mashal refused to confirm Mullah Omar's death.

While, earlier media reports alleged that Mullah Omar had been killed during a crossfire in areas between Pakistan's Quetta and North Waziristan, Pakistani security officials totally rejected the breaking of any kind of clash in the area.

On early Monday, Afghan officials and media announced that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had been killed in Pakistan.

"Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed and his body is under postmortem studies at the coroners' office," a senior Afghan official told FNA on the condition of anonymity.

The Taliban in Afghanistan, too, dismissed the media reports as "propaganda".

"He is in Afghanistan safe and sound," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. "We strongly reject these baseless allegations that Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed."