Mullah Omar, founder of the Afghan Taliban, died of na-tural causes in Afghan-istan, his son said in a statement calling for unity and quashing rumours about his father’s mysterious death amid a leade
Mullah Omar, founder of the Afghan Taliban, died of na-tural causes in Afghan-istan, his son said in a statement calling for unity and quashing rumours about his father’s mysterious death amid a leadership dispute. The dispute within the Taliban threatens a fledgling peace process with the Afghan government and may open the way for ISIS to expand its toehold of influence.The Taliban in July in a hastily convened meeting appointed Omar’s deputy, Mullah Mansour, as leader.
Many commanders and Omar’s family were unhappy with the appointment. Some question why Manso-ur concealed news of Omar’s death for two years. He said it was necessary to preserve unity amid the 2014 Nato withdrawal. Ru-mours have multiplied amid the splits. “I wanted to assure you that he died a natural death,” Omar’s eldest son, Mullah Moham-mad Yaqoob, said in an audio tape released on Sunday night and authenticated by Taliban sources.
“He had been sick for some time but his condition deteriorated,” he said. “He stayed in Afghanistan. He died there and was laid to rest there,” Yaqoob said.
