From Mona Wardag
KABUL: Mullah Omer, the elusive and reclusive one-eyed founder of the Taliban, once hid his personal vehicle by burying it when the US forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 in retaliation for 9/11 attacks.
Now, in 2022, the Taliban have dug up the vehicle of their founder in Zabul province, where it was buried 21 years ago.
The Toyota vehicle was buried by Mullah Omar when he arrived from Kandahar in the Zabul province of southern Afghanistan.
The car was found wrapped in plastic and mostly undamaged. The front mirror was broken however, a local said.
The vehicle will soon be displayed at the Afghan National Museum.
Born in 1960 in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, Mullah Omar fought with the Afghan fighters against the Soviet army in the 1980s and lost his right eye in battle.
Some reports suggest the Taliban leader had himself cut out his wounded eye, while others suggest he was treated at a hospital in one of the neighbouring countries.
After the Soviets pulled out in 1989, Omar is said to have returned to his native area as a prayer leader and teacher. He gathered a band of students which is later said to have become the Taliban.
The Taliban took power in Kabul Under Omar’s leadership in 1996 but were later on toppled by a US-led invasion, in 2001.
Omar was known as a unifying force among the Taliban during the group’s insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign troops.
His death in 2013, reportedly due to an illness, was not revealed by the group until July 2015.
