Taliban admits for the first time that its former leader Mullah Omar died two years ago

• Taliban has acknowledged that Mullah Mohammad Omar died in April 2013 
• Group kept death a secret because 2013 was 'last year of resistance and struggle' before foreign military drawdown
• Former leader led a bloody insurgency against US-led forces after he was toppled from hiss rule

By Associated Press and Julian Robinson for MailOnline

Published: 03:17 EST, 31 August 2015 | Updated: 13:30 EST, 31 August 2015

The Taliban has admitted for the first time that its former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar died two years ago - having previously kept the death a secret.

Omar died on April 23, 2013, according to a newly released biography of the Sunni Islamist organisation's new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.

The Taliban said it kept the one-eyed militant's death a secret as '2013 was considered the last year of resistance and struggle' before the foreign military drawdown. 

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 The Taliban has admitted for the first time that its former leader Mullah Mohammad Omar died two years ago - having previously kept the death a secret

The secretive leader and Al Qaeda ally led a bloody insurgency against U.S.-led forces after they toppled him from his rule in Afghanistan in 2001. 

Despite reports of his death earlier this year, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had rejected the claims as baseless, saying Omar was still alive. 

Today, the Afghan Taliban published the biography of their new leader as hundreds of insurgents met to resolve a dispute over his appointment following Omar's death.

The 5,000-word biography, emailed to journalists in five languages, offers the story of Mansoor, who now leads the Taliban in its fight against the Afghan government. 

It describes Mansoor, born in 1968, as a tireless holy warrior, good listener, neat dresser and ardent protector of civilians who was appointed as the insurgents' leader 'in full compliance with Islamic Shariah law.'

Mansoor 'never nominated himself for leadership, rather he was selected as the only candidate... by members of the leading council of the Islamic Emirate and religious scholars,' the biography says, using the name of the former Taliban government.

In this undated image released by the FBI, Mullah Omar is seen in a wanted poster with a bounty of $10million under the U.S. government's Rewards for Justice programme

Mansoor was named as the Taliban's leader last month after the Afghan government revealed that Mullah Omar died in 2013. But family of Mullah Omar objected, saying the vote to elect Mansoor was not representative of the group, sparking an internal power struggle.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters, including battlefield commanders, are meeting in the Pakistani city of Quetta in an effort to resolve the leadership dispute.

The release of the biography appears to be an attempt by Mansoor's supporters to shore up his position and consolidate his power ahead of the meeting's delegates making a final decision about who leads them. That decision could be made within days.

'Mansour is trying to show that he is the leader and no one can reach him on that level,' said Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, the foreign relations adviser to the Afghan government's High Peace Council, which is charged with ending the war.

Analysts and others, like Qasimyar, believe Mansoor gained power in the Taliban in part because of his connections to Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency. The ISI long has had ties to Afghan militants.

The US State Department – which has a $10 million bounty on his head – describes him as a tall male with a shrapnel wound to the right eye

With the ISI's support, Mansoor 'is the only one right now that has more support than anyone else for the leadership,' Qasimyar said. 'With Pakistan's support, it doesn't matter who supports him and who doesn't.'

However, Habibullah Fouzi, a diplomat under the Taliban and now also on the peace council, said there could be more dissention coming in the Taliban. He said many rank-and-file members supported Mullah Omar's brother, Manan, and son, Yaqub, who have challenged Mansoor's appointment.

'It is clear that Mullah Mansoor has been imposed into this position by others,' Fouzi said.

The Taliban leadership challenge comes after fledging peace talks between it and the Afghan government were called off following Mullah Omar's death becoming public. 

Despite fierce fighting and high casualties on both sides this year, the Taliban have failed to make significant battlefield progress. 

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