Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban, is dead, according to Afghan officials and a person close to the group.
His death raises questions about who will lead the movement that allied with al Qaeda, fought a war with the U.S. and is now divided over whether to pursue an elusive peace deal with Afghanistan's new government.
A spokesman for the Taliban couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday, and it remains unclear when and how Mullah Omar died. An Afghan official briefed on the matter said the Pakistan government informed Kabul he had died two years ago.
Mullah Omar hasn't been seen publicly since the early months of the U.S.-led invasion of 2001, leading to speculation that he had died‐a rumor the Taliban has repeatedly sought to quash.
News of his death comes at a difficult time for the movement, which is deeply divided over whether to pursue peace talks with the Afghan government with the aim of ending the 14-year war.