Mullah Omar, the Afghan Taliban leader who has not been seen in public since the U.S. and coalition forces ousted his government in 2001, is dead, and has been for two or three years, senior sources in Afghanistan's security services and government tell BBC News and other news outlets. According to Pakistan's Express Tribune, Omar died more than two years ago of tuberculosis. "It is widely speculated that Mullah Baradar Akhund will succeed Mullah Omar as the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban," the paper reports.
This isn't the first report of the reclusive leader's death, but "this is the first to be confirmed by top sources in the Afghan government," BBC News notes. "A Taliban spokesman contacted by the BBC said the group would issue a statement shortly." The Taliban has issued several statements in Mullah Omar's name since his apparent death in 2013, most recently a July 15 message supporting peace talks with the Afghan government.
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