Taliban confirms death of Mullah Omar, names successor

High-ranking Taliban officials have confirmed Afghan government claims that the militant group’s long-secretive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is dead, and say the group’s senior council has appointed a successor.

In a development likely to affect the future of peace talks with the militants, the Taliban Shura, or Supreme Council, has tapped Mullah Akhtar Mansoor — who had been acting as Mullah Omar’s deputy since 2012 — to be its leader, according to news reports Thursday.

A Taliban spokesman had initially denied Afghan government claims that Mullah Omar died in a Pakistani hospital in 2013. It remains to be seen how Thursday’s reversal may impact the peace talks, which have struggled to gain momentum despite growing calls for reconciliation by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and officials in neighboring Pakistan.

The Associated Press and the BBC reported that Taliban officials now admit the death of Mullah Omar — the legendary one-eyed militant leader, who hosted Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda during the years leading up to 9/11 and had not been seen in public since 2001, when he fled across the border into Pakistan as U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan.

Uncertainty had swirled Wednesday around reports of his death. An announcement about it by Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency came just as other Taliban leaders claiming to represent the group are slated to hold fresh rounds of peace talks with Afghan officials — talks that have caused division among the militant group’s rank and file.

The White House said Wednesday that administration officials believe the Afghan National Directorate of Security’s claim is “credible,” but could not independently confirm its accuracy.

The uncertainty, coupled with the announcement’s timing, prompted speculation that Afghan authorities may be trying to pressure the Taliban’s regional commanders to get behind the peace process with Kabul.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office insisted its intelligence about Mullah Omar was “accurate,” and that his demise would benefit the peace talks, aimed at ending the war that has gripped the nation since a U.S.-led coalition of forces drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan 14 years ago.

“The Afghan government believes that the ground for the Afghan peace talks is more solid now than before and thus calls on all armed opposition groups to seize the opportunity to join the peace process,” a statement from Mr. Ghani’s office said.

But regional Taliban commanders have been openly split in recent months on whether to continue the war or negotiate with Mr. Ghani, who has pushed for reconciliation with the militants since coming to office last year. The death report also comes amid reports that the far more radical Islamic State movement has been trying to expand into Afghanistan as well.