The White House said Wednesday that reports that Taliban leader Mullah Omar has died “are credible.”
But spokesman Eric Schultz would not be drawn on a specific claim made by Afghanistan that he had died two years ago in Pakistan.
“The intelligence community is looking at these reports and continues to assess the circumstances around his death,” he said.
Read: ‘Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead’
“But beyond that I’m not going to be in a position here to speak candidly about what we know at this point.”
Earlier, Afghan intelligence’s National Directorate of Security said Mullah Mohammed Omar died in Pakistan in April 2013.
There have been longstanding rumors of Omar’s demise but the latest claim is the first confirmation from the Afghan government.
The Taliban have yet to react to the reported death of their historic leader.
In April, the group published a biography of Omar describing him as still involved in “jihadi activities.” (AFP)
