Taliban deny report of Mullah Omar’s death, say leader is alive and in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban are denying a report in the Afghan press that Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed in neighboring Pakistan, saying the leader of the insurgent group is alive and in Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a phone call Monday that the report is “absolutely wrong.”

He said, “It’s only propaganda and we completely deny these rumors. He is inside Afghanistan and he is busy directing military operations with his commanders.”

Afghan news channel Tolo quoted an anonymous Afghan intelligence official as saying that Omar had been killed in Pakistan. Officials with the Afghan intelligence service contacted by the AP said they had no such reports. They spoke anonymously because they were not official spokesmen.

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