Afghan Taliban Leader Claims Victory In Eid Message

Taliban Leader Claims Victory In Eid Message -- Al Jazeera

Mullah Omar says "unique distinction" of this year's summer offensive is that it has reached all corners of Afghanistan.

Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, has issued an Eid message claiming victories on the battlefield against NATO.

The rare statement from Omar, believed by Afghanistan to be hiding in neighbouring Pakistan, came on Friday as Muslims prepared for Eid-al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The seven-page message was posted on the Taliban's website.

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More News on Taliban Leader Mullah Omar

Mullah Omar issues Eid message -- Pakistan Today/AFP
Taliban leader urges insurgents to cut civilian deaths -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters
Taliban chief says his fighters have infiltrated Afghan forces and are killing foreign troops -- Washington Post/AP
Reclusive Taliban leader says fighters infiltrating Afghan forces -- CNN
NATO brands Taliban leader Omar's Eid message 'insane' -- AFP
ISAF Commander Slams Mullah Omar's Eid Message As 'Message Of Death, Hate' -- RTT News
Taliban Leader Issues "An Unmistakable Message of Death" -- Voice of America

Why Did Afghanistan's Taliban Leader Go Into Hiding?

Rumors Swirl As Afghans Say Taliban's Mullah Omar Has Moved -- McClatchy News

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan Taliban on Monday denied reports that their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, one of the most wanted men in Afghanistan, had been killed, as Afghan authorities said that he'd disappeared from Quetta, Pakistan, where he's thought to have spent the last 10 years hiding out.

An Afghan government official said he couldn't confirm Omar's death but that Afghan intelligence thought that Omar had left his longtime Quetta base four or five days ago and hadn't been seen since.

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My Comment: Ben Farmer and Dean Nelson for The Telegraph sum it up best .... after the killing of Osama Bin laden, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar knows that he is next. As to why did he decide to flee now .... from my vantage point it looks like someone gave him a tip that U.S./Pakistani intelligence agents were zeroing in on him, and now was the time to go into hiding .... a situation that (after the death of his ally Bin laden) he did not need much encouragement.

Rumors Of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Having A Heart Attack Denied By The Taliban And Pakistan

A rare photograph of Mullah Omar in hiding in 2001 Photo: REUTERS

Taliban Deny Mullah Omar Had Heart Attack -- The Telegraph

The Taliban have denied a report that their fugitive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, has had a heart attack and is convalescing with the help of Pakistan’s military spy agency.

A spokesman for the insurgents dismissed the report as American propaganda, saying Omar was fit and well.

Pakistan, which is accused of harbouring the insurgents’ leadership, also rejected the report from a private intelligence network and published by a US newspaper.

Omar was rushed to a Karachi hospital on January 7 it said, quoting an unnamed doctor who had seen him struggling to recover from surgery to fit a tube in his heart.

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More News On Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Having A Heart Attack

Pakistani spies allegedly rushed Taliban chief Mullah Omar over border for treatment after heart attack -- The Australian
ISI helped Mullah Omar get treated in Karachi: report -- One India
Report: Pakistani spy agency rushed Mullah Omar to hospital -- Washington Post
Taliban chief Mullah Omar treated in Pakistan: report -- DAWN/AFP
Mullah Omar as a new mythological hero -- Voice of Russia
What would losing Mullah Omar mean to the Taliban? -- The Telegraph
Who is Mullah Omar? -- The Telegraph

Afghanistan's Taliban Leader Has Suffered A Heart Attack

A rare photograph of Mullah Omar in hiding in 2001 Photo: REUTERS

Taliban Leader Mullah Omar 'Has Had A Heart Attack' -- The Telegraph

Mullah Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Taliban has been operated on in Pakistan in order to save his life after a heart attack, according to reports.

Omar and his associates are said to base themselves in Quetta across the Pakistan border from Afghanistan, where they allegedly have the protection of the Pakistani military.

The report suggests that the Pakistanis are keen to keep him alive to preserve their influence over the Taliban, despite official denials.

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Update: Report: Pakistani spy agency rushed Mullah Omar to hospital -- Washington Post

My Comment: The leader of Afghanistan's Taliban is taken by Pakistani intelligence officials .... and given life saving treatment in a hospital.

Hmmm .... it seems obvious on who the Pakistani Government/intelligence services support .... and it is not us.

Where Is The Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Omar?

Mullah Mohammed Omar, pictured circa 1996. K H / Magnum Photos

‘This Mullah Omar Show’ -- Newsweek

No one’s heard from the Taliban leader in almost nine years. Now his absence is exposing dangerous fault lines within the insurgency.

A thrill coursed through the Taliban’s ranks a few weeks ago—someone was said to have seen a new video that showed Mullah Mohammed Omar in the distance, firing a Kalashnikov. The insurgents rejoiced: they hadn’t heard from their reclusive leader since late 2001, when he rode east into the Kandahar mountains on the back of his brother-in-law’s motorcycle, fleeing a storm of U.S. bombs.

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My Comment: Every insurgency needs a leader .... especially if the perception is that they are wining and that they are not far from gaining power. For the Taliban in Afghanistan, the heavy fighting that has occurred in the country this summer has raised these legitimate questions .... and if Mullah Omar does not make an appearance soon, expect the younger commanders to start jockeying for power and influence.

Taliban's Enigmatic Spiritual Leader Still At Large

Photo: A purported photo of Mullah Mohammed Omar from a U.S. government Web site offering a $10 million reward for his capture. The authenticity of this photo is in dispute. Rewards for Justice/U.S. Dept. of State

From NPR:

NPR.org, March 27, 2009 · As the Obama administration reviews U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, there are reports that officials are considering opening talks with so-called moderate Taliban leaders but also expanding attacks on Taliban strongholds in neighboring Pakistan.

In either case, the U.S. calculation will have to factor in the man who has led the Taliban since its creation in the 1990s, the Afghan cleric Mullah Omar.

One of the curious things about Mohammed Omar is how little is known about him. The Sunni Muslim cleric was the most powerful man in Afghanistan for five years, but he avoided the limelight of the capital, Kabul. He ruled instead from the seclusion of his home in the southern city of Kandahar, leaving the public face of the government to officials such as the Taliban foreign minister.

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