UPDATE1 -- Taliban reject media reports of Mullah Omar's death

UPDATE1 -- Taliban reject media reports of Mullah Omar's death

2011-05-23 13:59:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- The Pakistani and Afghan Taliban on Monday rejected media reports that its spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, was killed in Pakistan late last week.

Tolo News, a private television channel in Afghanistan, reported on early Monday that Omar was shot dead in Pakistan on Saturday. Several other media organizations, including China's Xinhua news agency, later also cited sources saying Omar was recently killed.

But Afghan and Pakistani officials were not able to confirm or deny the reports. "Just like you, we heard it on a local TV. I don't know how much truth is there in this," a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.

One Afghan general told BNO News that he heard the media reports as well. "I hope it's right [that Omar is dead]," he said, but noting he had no information to confirm or deny it.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was also unable to confirm or deny the reports. "[We have] no reporting on our end. We've just heard the same media reports and are looking into them," an ISAF spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, spokesmen for the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban have denied the reports. "He is safe and sound," an Afghan Taliban spokesman told the Afghan Islamic Press news agency.

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