Mullah Omar death reports 'credible', says White House

Throwing its weight behind the reports of Taliban supremo mullah Omar's demise, the US on Wednesday said that the news was “credible”, however refrained from revealing further details.

Mullah Omar death reports 'credible', says White House

Washington: Throwing its weight behind the reports of Taliban supremo mullah Omar's demise, the US on Wednesday said that the news was “credible”, however refrained from revealing further details.

“The intelligence community is looking at these reports and continues to assess the circumstances around his death,” White House Spokesperson Eric Schultz said.

“But beyond that I’m not going to be in a position here to speak candidly about what we know at this point,” he added.

Though there have been numerous reports of Mullah Omar's demise in the past, this is the first time that Afghan government has confirmed it.

Reports yesterday cited Afghan intelligence’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) as claiming that said Mullah Mohammed Omar had died two years ago in Pakistan in April 2013.

The US has also refrained from commenting on the NDS claim.

Mullah Omar was the one-eyed, secretive head of the Taliban. His group hosted Osama Bin Laden's al Qaida in the years leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks and then waged a decade-long insurgency against US troops after the 2001 invasion that ended Taliban rule.

Mullah Omar hasn't been seen in public since fleeing the invasion over the border into Pakistan.

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