Afghan Taliban confirm leader Mullah Omar's death

AP photo

The Taliban on July 30 confirmed the death of their leader Mullah Omar but gave no word about who would take charge of the movement still waging a bloody insurgency in Afghanistan.

The militants said Omar died of "sickness", citing family members, a day after the Afghan government said the one-eyed warrior-cleric had passed away in Pakistan two years ago.
 
Omar's death marks a significant blow to the Taliban, which is riven by internal divisions and threatened by the rise of the Islamic State group, the Middle East jihadist outfit that is making steady inroads in Afghanistan.
 
"The leadership of the Islamic Emirate and the family of Mullah Omar... announce that leader Mullah Omar died due to a sickness," a Taliban statement said, using the movement's official name.
 
The Taliban now face the tricky process of choosing a successor to the near-mythical figure who led them for some 20 years.
 
Militant sources have told AFP that Taliban deputy Mullah Akhtar Mansour is leading the race to take over, but stressed that no final decision has been taken yet.
 
A Taliban official said the process had several stages: the group's ruling council would choose a candidate who must then be approved by a college of religious clerics.
 
Omar's son Mullah Yakoub was favoured by some commanders, sources said, but at 26 he was considered too young and inexperienced for such a key role.
         
A fresh round of peace talks between the militants and the Afghan government, planned for Friday in Pakistan, has been postponed, according to Islamabad.
 
The ministry said the Taliban leadership had asked for the postponement "in view of the reports regarding the death of Mullah Omar and the resulting...

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