Editing Mullah Omar (section)

=== U.S. invasion of Afghanistan ===
{{Further|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Taliban insurgency}}
On the night of 7–8 October 2001, shortly after the US-led [[United States invasion of Afghanistan]] began, Omar's house in Kandahar was bombed just after he had left, fatally injuring his 10-year-old son. His stepfather, who was also his uncle, was initially reported killed,<ref>{{cite news |title=Refugees say Taliban leader's son killed |date=11 October 2001 |url= https://www.iol.co.za/news/world/refugees-say-taliban-leaders-son-killed-75093 |newspaper=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|Independent Online]] |location=South Africa |access-date=16 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120804231808/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=522&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1002832921692B232 |archive-date=4 August 2012 |quote=the Taliban leader had just left when a bomb struck one of his houses. They said Mullah Omar's natural father had died years before and, following Afghan custom, his mother had married his uncle.}}</ref> but later reports said he was injured and treated at a hospital.<ref>{{cite news |title=Omar's son dies in raid |date=22 October 2001 |newspaper=Birmingham Post |id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here -->}}}}</ref>

In another account of an attack that night, an [[MQ-1 Predator]] drone followed a three-vehicle convoy that left Omar's compound and drove to a compound to the southwest of Kandahar, with US commanders believing Omar was in one of the vehicles. Men disembarked from the vehicles and entered a large building in the compound. US military officers considered bombing the building, but were concerned that another building in the compound might be a mosque, which they wished to avoid hitting. Eventually it was decided to fire a [[AGM-114 Hellfire|Hellfire]] missile from the Predator at one of the vehicles, where armed guards kept gathering, in the hope that it would draw out anyone inside the possible mosque. The {{nowrap|attack{{tsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{tsp}}the first missile launched by a drone in {{nowrap|combat{{tsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{tsp}}appeared to cause two casualties. Dozens of men, some armed, emerged from the large building and other buildings in the compound, and some got into vehicles and departed.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/how-we-missed-mullah-omar-111026/ |title=How We Missed Mullah Omar |first=Richard |last=Whittle |date=16 September 2014 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref>

According to fellow Taliban fighters, Omar had secretly fled his residence in Kandahar for security purposes shortly after it was bombed and was last seen riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by his brother-in-law and right-hand man, Mullah [[Abdul Ghani Baradar]]. Senior and former Taliban officials have said that there had not been any confirmed sightings of their ''Amir-ul-Momineen'' (commander of the faithful) in Afghanistan since then.

In November 2001, he was heard over a short-wave radio ordering all Taliban troops to abandon Kabul and take to the mountains, noting, "defending the cities with front lines that can be targeted from the air will cause us terrible loss".<ref>[[Stephen Tanner]], ''Afghanistan: A Military History'', 2008</ref> In a November 2001 [[BBC World Service|BBC Pashto]] interview, Omar said, "You (the BBC) and American puppet radios have created concern. But the current situation in Afghanistan is related to a bigger cause{{snd}}that is the destruction of America. ... This is not a matter of weapons. We are hopeful for God's help. The real matter is the extinction of America. And, God willing, it [America] will fall to the ground."<ref name="BBC1657368">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1657368.stm |title=Interview with Mullah Omar{{snd}}transcript |work=BBC News |date=15 November 2001 |access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref> Claiming that the Americans had circulated "propaganda" that Omar had gone into hiding, Foreign Minister [[Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil]] stated that he would like to "propose that Prime Minister Blair and President Bush take [[Kalashnikov rifle|Kalashnikovs]] and come to a specified place where Omar will also appear to see who will run and who not". He stated that Omar was merely changing locations due to security reasons.<ref>Independent Online, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090326103208/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=522&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw100499238175B221 Taliban challenges Bush and Blair to a duel], 5 November 2001</ref>

During the [[Battle of Kandahar (2001)|Battle for Kandahar]] in late November 2001, US Special Operations teams known as Texas 12 and Texas 17 aligned with [[Hamid Karzai]] and with General [[Gul Agha Sherzai]], respectively, surrounded Kandahar backed by US Marines outside [[Lashkar Gah]].<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG166-1.html |title=Air Power Against Terror|first=Benjamin S. |last=Lambeth|date=4 February 2019|website=rand.org |page=142 |quote=Secretary Rumsfeld further reported that U.S. SOF forces in and around Kandahar were not working any longer in liaison with indigenous opposition forces but instead were now operating independently as the cutting edge of an accelerated push against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. In connection with that push, SOF units were now cleared to plan and execute direct-action attacks whenever deemed necessary, a long-awaited move that led to hundreds of reported enemy deaths. One US official spoke of an "unrestricted hunting license" having been given to US SOF forces for going after Taliban militia and Al Qaeda personnel. General Franks was said to have granted the involved SOF units their greatest freedom of action since Vietnam. Those units worked in small teams, primarily at night, identifying Taliban and Al Qaeda positions around Kandahar and engaging them without seeking prior CENTCOM approval. Much of this direct-action work came in the form of quick responses to tips. Ultimately, Army Special Forces units married up with converging opposition group forces, with the A-Team code-named Texas 12 accompanying Karzai and his fighters from the north and Texas 17 with Gul Agha Sharzai and his forces from the south.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Scarborough |first=Rowan |date=23 November 2001 |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2001/nov/23/20011123-031348-5339r/|title=Special forces get free rein|website=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref> On 28 November 2001, while under attack by a Russian-made [[BM-21 Grad|BM-21 multiple rocket launcher]], Texas 17 observed Omar's black American-made [[Chevrolet Suburban]] passing Kandahar Airport and travelling down highway four surrounded by a dozen sedans and six semi-trucks. Four US Navy [[F/A-18|F-18]]'s from [[USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)|USS Kitty Hawk]] destroyed all the vehicles including the Suburban.<ref>Texas 17 now located six miles south of Kandahar near the Kandahar airport on 28 November 2001 0900 in the morning local spotted a Black Chevrolet Suburban driving south down Highway 4 covered by artillery fire launched from the Kandahar Airport by a Russian Made BM-21 Multiple Rocket Launcher System (MRLS) dropping artillery all around Texas 17 position.  The Black SUV headed south off of Highway four towards Pakistan surrounded by 12 sedans and six heavy trucks.  All vehicles were destroyed by Texas 17 and Navy F-18 Hornet Fighter aircraft including the Black Chevrolet Suburban, the same vehicle known to be used by Mullah Omar.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=August 2021}} The same day, 28 November 2001, the Taliban reported that Omar had supposedly survived an American air strike.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/11/28/ret.afghan.omar/index.html |title=Taliban urged to fight on |date=28 November 2001|publisher=CNN |quote=The Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, is reportedly urging his forces to fight on, even as U.S. warplanes step up efforts to find and perhaps even kill him. A Taliban aide on the border with Pakistan said Omar radioed his commanders Wednesday urging them to stand up to U.S. Marines being deployed in southern Afghanistan. "Stick to your positions and fight to the death" the aide quoted Omar as saying, according to the Associated Press. "We are ready to face these Americans. We are happy that they have landed here and we will teach them a lesson." "Stick to your positions and fight to the death." The message was apparently broadcast after the Taliban leader escaped unharmed from a U.S. airstrike on what was Pentagon officials say they believed to be a command bunker close to the city of Kandahar. Officials say Omar is still in the city, which has been the movement's stronghold for several years. Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, said Omar was not injured in the attack and was "safe and sound".}}</ref>