KABUL - Taliban spokesmen in Afghanistan denied today that the insurgent group’s leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had died, insisting that a phone message and a posting on the Internet were fake.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by phone that a text message sent to journalists on his behalf was the result of a phone hack.
“He is overseeing operations in the country,’’ Mujahid said, adding that “outsiders must have hacked into Taliban phones and the website.’’ Mujahid blamed US intelligence agencies, saying they were trying “to demoralize the Taliban.’’
Rumors spread that Mullah Omar had died when the text message, allegedly sent from Mujahid, announced that the “Amir ul Mumineen,’’ or “commander of the Muslim faithful,’’ was dead. That title is reserved for the Taliban leader.
Mullah Omar has led the decadelong insurgency against the US-led military coalition and the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai. He ruled most of Afghanistan as leader of its Taliban government before the United States and its allies invaded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Meanwhile, NATO handed over responsibility yesterday for the security of the capital of an eastern province to Afghan forces, the latest step in a transition process that will lead to the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
The US-led coalition has started transferring security in parts of the country where Afghan forces have been deemed strong enough to take control, although so far that has largely been restricted to provincial capitals, as much of the country remains lawless and unstable after a decade of war.
US forces turned over control of the city of Mehterlam, but they will retain responsibility for the other areas of Laghman Province that remain under the inflluence of insurgent groups. Mehterlam is one of seven areas being transferred to the Afghan government this month, the first phase in a 3 1/2-year plan that will eventually see the entire country under Afghan control.
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