KABUL — (CNN) Former Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is indeed dead, the Afghan Islamist militant group confirmed Thursday.
The acknowledgment, made in a statement released by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, came a day after Afghanistan’s government announced that the reclusive Islamic cleric had died in April 2013.
The Taliban’s statement, in the Pashto language, called Omar “the late leader of the faithful.”
It did not confirm when or where he died, but did say that he died of an illness.
News of Omar’s death came just weeks after the Afghan government held its first face-to-face talks with Taliban representatives in an attempt to work toward a peace process.
A spokesperson for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday, citing “credible information,” that Omar had died in April 2013 in Pakistan.
White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz could not confirm the death but said the administration believed the reports were credible. Schultz said the intelligence community was looking into the reports.
The elusive leader had not appeared in public since the Taliban regime’s overthrow in Afghanistan 14 years ago and made no video or authenticated audio statements in that time.
Under Omar’s leadership, the Taliban offered safe haven to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, precipitating the U.S. military action in Afghanistan after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
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