Matthew 24:10,11 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
He may have died in 2013, but officials in Afghanistan are now confirming for the first time that the leader of the Taliban is dead.
Afghani President Ashraf Ghani released a statement Wednesday citing “credible information” that the one-eyed Omar died in a Karachi, Pakistan hospital in April 2013.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, based on credible information, confirms that Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of the Taliban died in April 2013 in Pakistan,” the statement said. “The government of Afghanistan believes that grounds for the Afghan peace talks are more paved now than before, and thus calls on all armed opposition groups to seize the opportunity and join the peace process.”
Omar had been suffering from liver and kidney issues. Afghani Security Services spokesman Abdul Hassib Seddiqi told the BBC Omar died from health problems.
Several U.S. intelligence officials said they had long believed Omar to have died because of the fractured nature within the current Taliban.
“I’ve tended to believe the rumors that he was dead since the serious splits started in the Taliban,” one official told CNN. “If he were alive, he wouldn’t allow these rumors to continue to threaten the movement’s unity to this degree. He would risk some small exposure to invalidate the rumors, and he has not done that despite incredible internal demands that he do so.”
Analysts are now concerned the official announcement of Omar’s death will spur ISIS to try and gain a foothold among the Taliban supporters in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
