Taliban denies reports of Mullah Omar’s death
A Taliban spokesman on Monday vehemently denied a swirl of rumors that the movement’s spiritual leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had died or been killed.
The spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said by telephone that Omar — the one-eyed, self-declared “commander of the faithful” who has long been thought to be hiding in Pakistan — was alive and well in Afghanistan, directing the group’s military campaign.
Nonetheless, the wildfire-like spread of the reports — aided by social media such as Twitter — reflected the intense degree of speculation surrounding Omar’s fate, which has dramatically heightened since Navy SEALs killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden three weeks earlier in his Pakistan hideout.