Afghanistan said on Wednesday it was investigating reports of the death of Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban movement behind an escalating insurgency against the government in Kabul.
The announcement came a day or so before a second round of peace talks had been tentatively scheduled, and uncertainty over the fate of the elusive Omar could deepen Taliban divisions over whether to pursue negotiations and who should replace him.
Omar, who would be in his mid-50's, has not been seen in public since fleeing when the Taliban was toppled from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001, and there has been speculation for years among militant circles that he was either incapacitated or had died.
"We are aware of the reports of the passing of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader," Sayed Zafar Hashemi, a spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, told reporters.
"We are still in the process of verifying those reports, and as soon as we get any more accurate information or identification ... we will let the media and the people of Afghanistan know about it."
The Taliban's regular spokesman could not be reached for comment through normal channels.
Omar has been rumored to have died several times in the past, but none of the reports has been confirmed.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was looking into the reliability of the latest reports.
The comments came as preparations were under way for the next round of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, provisionally planned for Thursday or Friday in a location yet to be confirmed.
