Taliban denies Mullah Omar death, accuses US of hacking

The Taliban said on Wednesday that their reclusive leader Mullah Omar was alive and well, accusing the United States of hacking their mobile phones to claim that he was deceased.

An Afghan national army soldier fires a rocket propelled grenade during a fire fight between Taliban fighters and Afghan and U.S. soldiers, Kunar province, 18 July 2011. Reuters/Baz Ratnir

A text message sent to media from a phone belonging to a spokesman for the Islamist group said: "Leadership council of IEA announces that Ameer-ul-Mumineen (Mullah Omar) has passed away."

The IEA is the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the name the Taliban gave themselves while in power from 1996 to 2001, when they were ousted in a US-led invasion.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied Omar's death and said his phone, where the text message appeared to come from, had been hacked.

Omar, the spiritual leader of the insurgency, presided over the Taliban's brief regime in Kabul which was toppled by the US in 2001 for refusing to give up Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Meanwhile, a gun battle between Afghan police and anti-government fighters in the city of Kandahar killed up to four police officers Wednesday, according to government and hospital officials.

The incident came as a security handover designed to showcase the strength of Afghan forces took place in Lashkar Gar, the capital of neighbouring Helmand province.