An unknown gunman assassinated Mullah Arsala Rahmani, a former Taliban minister who was an important go-between in potential peace talks, on Sunday morning, Afghan officials confirmed.

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Arsala Rahmani is Assassinated in Kabul

Islamist cleric Mullah Krekar is sentenced to five years in prison for making death threats against Norwegian officials and others.

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Norway jails Kurd cleric Krekar

U.S. officials have met with an aide to Mullah Mohammad Omar at least three times in recent months in the first direct exploratory peace talks, officials in the region said.

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U.S. Has Held Meetings With Aide to Taliban Leader, Officials Say

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan intelligence agency said Monday that the reclusive leader of the Taliban has disappeared from a suspected hideout in Pakistan and has been out of contact with his commanders for days — adding further questions about Mullah Mohammad Omar after a media report said he was killed. The Taliban denied the claim on the Afghan news channel Tolo that Omar was shot dead while being moved inside Pakistan with the help of a former Pakistani intelligence official. The Taliban spokesman countered that Omar was alive and was somewhere inside Afghanistan. Read full article > >

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Afghan intelligence agency: Taliban leader has disappeared, not in contact with leadership

Reports from inside Afghanistan’s intelligence agency had indicated that Mullah Muhammad Omar was dead.

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Taliban Spokesman Denies Leader Has Been Killed

American and Afghan officials say that a man purporting to be Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, a key figure in negotiations, was not, but received American money.

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Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor

Taliban leader Mullah Omar says his fighters are on the verge of victory in Afghanistan and the Nato-led campaign has been “a complete failure”.

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Taliban chief says victory close