Taliban deny news that Mullah Mohammed Omar died

Taliban spokesmen in Afghanistan denied today that the insurgent group’s leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had died, insisting that a phone message and a posting on the Internet were fake, the Boston Globe reports.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by phone that a text message sent to journalists on his behalf was the result of a phone hack.

“He is overseeing operations in the country,’’ Mujahid said, adding that “outsiders must have hacked into Taliban phones and the website.’’ Mujahid blamed US intelligence agencies, saying they were trying “to demoralize the Taliban,’’ the source reports.

Rumors spread that Mullah Omar had died when the text message, allegedly sent from Mujahid, announced that the “Amir ul Mumineen,’’ or “commander of the Muslim faithful,’’ was dead, the Boston Globe notes.