Taliban spokesman Sabihullah Mujahid told AFP news agency on Sunday. Photos released by authorities show men gathering around a simple grave, topped by a green metal cage.
The location of the tomb was kept secret for years because “the land was occupied and there were many enemies,” Mujahid said. Only the closest relatives knew the place, the spokesman said. Now people could easily visit the resting place, he added.
Mullah Omar died in 2013, but authorities kept his death a secret for years. He is considered the founder of the radical Islamic Taliban, brought the group to power after a bloody civil war in Afghanistan and enforced strict Sharia law. The country became a haven for jihadist groups, including Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network, the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
When the Taliban refused to extradite bin Laden after the attacks, the US and its allies attacked Afghanistan, overthrew the Taliban and installed a new government. In August 2021, the Taliban returned to power.
(SDA)