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Death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar confirmed by Afghan officials

cupper

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Interesting development.

Death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar confirmed by Afghan officials

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/afghan-officials-prepare-comment-amid-reports-of-taliban-leader-death/2015/07/29/a60a6396-35d9-11e5-b673-1df005a0fb28_story.html?hpid=z1

KABUL —Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Afghan Taliban, died in a hospital in Pakistan more than two years ago, the Afghan president’s office and intelligence agency officials said Wednesday.

The report — long rumored but never publicly acknowledged by high-level officially — pointed to possible shake-ups within the militant group that could complicate recently opened peace talks.

There was no immediate comment from the militant group. In the past, Taliban’s official spokesmen have repeatedly denied rumors of Omar’s death.

Abdul Hassib Seddiqi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, said Omar died in a hospital in the Pakistani city of Karachi in April 2013, news reports said.

“We confirm officially that he is dead,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying. Officials gave similar statements to The Washington Post.

The reason was unclear for the long delay in a high-level announcement on Omar’s apparent death. But it came just days before the next scheduled session of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government seeking to end 14 years of fighting.

Finding a formula for peace has been a priority for Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani.

But open acknowledgment of Omar’s death could raise new hurdles in the difficult talks. Omar has remained a symbolic figure of unity among the Taliban even as various factions split over whether to seek a cease-fire or press ahead with their insurgency.

Earlier Wednesday, various media in Afghanistan and Pakistan, citing unnamed Afghan officials, reported on the death of Omar — a secretive figure who first took up arms against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, but became known to the world later as the host of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

“He was very sick in a Karachi hospital and died suspiciously there,” Seddiqi said, without providing details, the AP reported.

Omar — who was rarely photographed and avoided major public events — is credited with being the ideological leader of the Taliban as it rose from a band of Islamist insurgents in the 1980s to take control of Afghanistan in the 1990s and provide haven for al-Qaeda.

An undated image believed to be showing Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. (Handout/EPA)
He became widely recognized for his distinctive look — a missing right eye believed to be lost in combat against the Soviets.

The Taliban was toppled by American forces and others after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but the group has remained as a potent militant force in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Recently, Taliban fighters have made gains across northern Afghanistan.

A second round of peace talks was scheduled to begin Friday in the Pakistan resort town of Murree, the Associated Press reported, citing a senior Afghan official.

But Tariq Fatemi, a special Pakistani envoy on foreign affairs, said during a visit to Washington that the timing and location of the next round is not yet confirmed.

In the first gathering, held in Murree earlier this month, the Taliban was represented by senior representatives from its shura, or ruling, council.

“They are recognized as the leaders . . . none have challenged that . . . Many of the old Taliban leaders have died or given up,” he said Tuesday, but had no direct comment on the status of Omar.

Although there has been no official confirmation, several sources in Kabul who have had close dealings with the Taliban note possible hints that Omar could no longer be in control. Recent statements attributed to Omar seemed to soften his hard-line stance against peace talks. It also was distributed without any audio, a Taliban practice in past years.

The rumors of Omar’s death have been intensifying for months, with several wildly contradictory versions circulating. One account put out by an insurgent group calling itself the Fedayeen Mahaz alleges that he was murdered by an associate. Another version is that he died after a long illness, possibly hepatitis.

Omar’s death could complicate the peace bid amid potential succession battles within the Taliban.

The most logical successor is Akthar Mohammed Mansour, his longtime deputy and senior aide. But some Taliban are said to favor Omar’s son Yacub, a recent Muslim seminary graduate in his 20s who has no militia experience.

“Omar’s role has been extraordinarily influential. If these reports are true, the question of a successor will be the first thing that has to be dealt with before negotiations can go on,” said Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a former Taliban diplomat and current member of the Afghan High Peace Council that was set up to promote negotiations.


In Pakistan, a Pakistani security official said the Omar officials were still considered “speculative.”

“The timing of such reports is questionable as talks being held for peace in Afghanistan,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under briefing rules.

Earlier this month, the Taliban asserted responsibility for a suicide bombing against an NATO convoy in Kabul. Hours later, suspected Taliban gunmen tried to storm an Afghan intelligence office in the Afghan capital.

In June, Taliban fighters launched an attack on the Afghanistan parliament while it was in session, forcing panicked lawmakers to flee.
 
tldr Afghanistan:"Yeah, Mullah Omar died two years ago.  Didn't we tell you?  Our bad."
 
Still an event worthy of a beer, he was an obstacle to any peace deal, we will see what falls out, as the old guard withers and unravels we will see what the new guard looks like. The West has hurt their talent pool, the remaining talent might not have the authority or personality to hold the Taliban together and they may split and go their separate ways. In which case peace deals may happen with various components and slowly allow the government to isolate the hardcore.
 
Should we be surprised? They did the same for Bin Laden. Pakistan is not an ally, but another Islamic extremist, failed state waiting to happen. They trust their fellow Sunnis in the Gulf states/Saudi Kingdom than they do western nations.

Military.com

US Long Suspected Pakistan of Sheltering Mullah Omar, Report Says

Fox News | Aug 01, 2015
U.S. intelligence officials suspected Pakistan of sheltering Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, one of the world's most wanted men, for years before his death, according to a published report.

On Wednesday, Afghan officials announced that they believed Omar had died in a Pakistan hospital sometime in 2013. On Thursday, the Taliban issued a statement confirming the death of the man known as "The Commander of the Faithful", but did not specify when or how he had died. The Taliban statement also specifically claimed that Mullah Omar never left Afghanistan, "even to go to Pakistan or to any other country."

However, the Washington Post, citing diplomatic and intelligence documents, reported that the CIA had a lead on the reclusive Omar's whereabouts several times in 2010 and 2011, always placing him in Pakistan. The suspicions are another example of the complex relationship between the U.S. and one of its key allies in the global war on terror.

One such document cited by the Post quotes then-Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as telling Pakistani officials during a White House strategy review in 2010 "while Pakistan has done a lot to deny safe havens to terrorists ... senior leadership of the Quetta Shura [Council] including Mullah Omar resides between Karachi and Quetta."
(...SNIPPED)
 
dapaterson said:
tldr Afghanistan:"Yeah, Mullah Omar died two years ago.  Didn't we tell you?  Our bad."

Then again...did any of us ask them? 
 
S.M.A. said:
Should we be surprised? They did the same for Bin Laden. Pakistan is not an ally, but another Islamic extremist, failed state waiting to happen. They trust their fellow Sunnis in the Gulf states/Saudi Kingdom than they do western nations.

Military.com

Fortunately Canada's hands are clean when it comes to Pakistan being a belligerent nation, specifically a nuclear-power nation....oh, wait...

Canada as a nuclear proliferator [to Pakistan].

:-\
 
Good2Golf said:
Fortunately Canada's hands are clean when it comes to Pakistan being a belligerent nation, specifically a nuclear-power nation....oh, wait...

Canada as a nuclear proliferator [to Pakistan].

:-\

Hey, at least we were equal-opportunity proliferators in that part of the world.  India also benefited from Canada paying over half the cost of the reactor that produced fissile material for India's nuclear weapons.


 
dapaterson said:
Hey, at least we were equal-opportunity proliferators in that part of the world.  India also benefited from Canada paying over half the cost of the reactor that produced fissile material for India's nuclear weapons.

That's very true.  CIDA wouldn't have had it any other way...now let's stop talking about how CIDA and EDC invested 10s and 100's of millions of dollars into nuclearizing southern-Asia....it doesn't fit well into the Canadian narrative...  ;)
 
Yes it does.

Can you really call it proliferation when you give it away to everyone? >:D
 
cupper said:
Yes it does.

Can you really call it proliferation when you give it away to everyone? >:D

I suppose you're right.  It only became proliferation after India and Pakistan built weapons from what they promised Canada would be peacefully used reactors.  :nod:
 
Exactly...who, while just as cretinous, maybe even more a vindictive mysoginist. 

MM
 
Mansoor is the new leader .... but it would seem that some in the TB are not very supportive of this decision.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/taliban-official-quits-amid-growing-leadership-struggle-following-news-of-death-of-mullah-omar-1.3178362
 
I'm wondering if the turd was flushed two years ago, then why so long to replace him with this new turd?
 
I have a feeling the cover-up was intended to protect unity within the TB.  There are already divisions showing now that word is out.

I suspect both the national government and IS will take advantage of the divisions.

 
IS maybe, the national's??  They didn't seem to be able to organize an orgy in a cat house.  They might want to take advantage but I'll bet money they'd frig it up royally.
 
This might be where they can do some good as they know the players better than we do. Of course there could be a double cross, of the double cross, of the double cross happening.
 
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