Editing Mullah Omar (section)

== Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) ==
{{Main|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)}}

=== Leadership ===
[[File:Mullah Omar reveals the Prophet's cloak.jpg|thumb|A still from a 1996 video taken secretly by BBC Newsnight. It purports to show Omar (left) presenting the [[cloak of Muhammad]] to his troops in Kandahar, before their successful assault on Kabul.]]
[[File:Mullah Mohammed Omar's 1998-06-15 letter to all Taliban.jpg|thumb|The June 15, 1998 letter from Mullah Omar to "all Taliban members young and old", complaining that his orders are not being followed. The letter was found in an [[al-Qaeda safe house]] in Kabul.]]
On 4 April 1996, supporters of Omar bestowed the title ''[[Amir al-Mu'minin]]'' (أمير المؤمنين, {{Literal translation|Commander of the Faithful}}) on him,<ref>{{cite news |author=Tim Weiner | title = Seizing the Prophet's Mantle: Muhammad Omar| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/07/international/asia/07MULL.html |newspaper=The New York Times | date = 7 December 2001| access-date =1 November 2014}}</ref> after he donned [[Cloak of Muhammad|a cloak]] which was alleged to be that of [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]], locked in a series of chests and held inside the [[Kirka Sharif|Shrine of the Cloak]] in the city of Kandahar. Legend decreed that whoever could retrieve the cloak from the chest would be the great Leader of the Muslims, or the "''Amir al-Mu'minin''{{-"}}.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/12/19/MN37470.DTL |title=Kandahar residents feel betrayed |first=Patrick |last=Healy |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=19 December 2001}}</ref>

In September 1996, [[Kabul]] fell to Omar and his followers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} The civil war continued in the northeast corner of the country, near [[Tajikistan]]. In October 1997 the nation was named the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] and recognized by [[Pakistan]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]]. Described as a "reclusive, pious and frugal" leader,<ref name="conflict">Griffiths, John C. ''Afghanistan: A History of Conflict'', 1981. Second Revision, 2001.</ref> Omar rarely left his residence in the city of [[Kandahar]], and he only visited Kabul twice between 1996 and 2001 during his tenure as ruler of Afghanistan. In November 2001, during a radio interview with the BBC, Omar stated: "All Taliban are moderate. There are two things: extremism ['ifraat', or doing something to excess] and conservatism ['tafreet', or doing something insufficiently]. So in that sense, we are all moderates{{snd}}taking the middle path."<ref name="BBC1657368" /><ref name="Malashenko">{{Cite news |last=Malashenko |first=Alexey |date=11 August 2015 |title=Where Will the New Taliban Leader Lead His People? |publisher=Russian International Affairs Council |url=https://carnegiemoscow.org/2015/08/11/where-will-new-taliban-leader-lead-his-people/ielb |access-date=12 September 2021 |via=Carnegie Moscow Center}}</ref><ref name="Waraich">{{cite web |last=Waraich |first=Omar |date=30 July 2015 |title=Mullah Mohammed Omar: Co-founder and leader of the Taliban who fought the Soviets before presiding over a brutal Afghan regime |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/mullah-mohammed-omar-co-founder-and-leader-taliban-who-fought-soviets-presiding-over-brutal-afghan-regime-10428546.html |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> During his tenure as Afghanistan's ruler, Omar seldom left the city of [[Kandahar]], where he lived in a large house reportedly built for him by [[Osama bin Laden]], the [[Saudis|Saudi]] militant who was the founder of [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="conflict" />{{Sfn|Aggarwal|2016}}

Omar had a complicated relationship with Osama bin Laden. According to Pakistani journalist [[Rahimullah Yusufzai]], Omar stated in the late 1990s, "We have told Osama [Bin Laden] not to use Afghan soil to carry out political activities as it creates unnecessary confusion about Taliban objectives."<ref>{{cite news |author=Robert Marquand | title = The reclusive ruler who runs the Taliban |work=The Christian Science Monitor | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1010/p1s4-wosc.html| date = 10 October 2001| access-date = 10 September 2014}}</ref> Bin Laden was a challenge for Omar: he was widely seen as a defender of the faith, had deep pockets, and if he were to censure the Taliban, the movement would likely end. However, Omar did not want bin Laden spreading a message of jihad. Omar summoned bin Laden to meet him in 1996 after bin Laden's declaration of jihad against the United States the same year. He asked bin Laden to stop talking about the jihad, but as a matter of Pashtun tribal custom did not outright forbid him, as it would be deeply insulting to a guest. Bin Laden chose to ignore Omar. The high stature of bin Laden and his importance in keeping the Taliban in power were further evidenced by Omar visiting bin Laden as a guest, a sign of deference and respect. After the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]], the US launched cruise missiles against al-Qaeda training camps and sought bin Laden. This inadvertently created more sympathy for bin Laden in Afghanistan. Omar did not hand bin Laden over, citing [[Pashtunwali]] tribal customs that require a host to protect guests, and that bin Laden was a guest of Afghanistan. Privately, Omar felt that if he bowed to the US by turning over bin Laden, the US would try to further influence Afghanistan and attempt to meddle in its religious matters. He may have also feared retaliation or withdrawal of support from the Saudi or Pakistani governments should he turn over bin Laden. In 2000, Omar ordered bin Laden to not attack the United States, after advisors warned him that bin Laden might be planning to do so. Omar suggested to the US that bin Laden be turned over to an international Islamic court, or simply exiled, but the US turned both suggestions down.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Malkasian|first=Carter|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1240264784|title=The American war in Afghanistan : a history|date=2021|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-755077-9|location=New York|oclc=1240264784}}</ref>{{Rp|47–50}}

Omar was also "Head of the [[Leadership Council of Afghanistan|Supreme Council]] of Afghanistan".<ref name=Waraich /><ref name="Malashenko" /><ref name=Princeton_Ency /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/why-new-taliban-leader-could-be-disaster-peace-afghanistan-331052|title = Why the New Taliban Leader Could be a Disaster for Peace in Afghanistan|date = 2 August 2015}}</ref> The Supreme Council was initially established at Kandahar in 1994.<ref name=Gunaratna />

According to a 2001 United Nations report, the Taliban committed systematic massacres against civilians between 1996 and 2001 while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan. The report said that such mass killings were ordered or approved by Omar himself and that bin Laden's [[055 Brigade]], made up of Arab fighters, was involved in these massacres.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gargan |first=Edward A |date=October 2001 |title=Taliban massacres outlined for UN |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2001/10/12/taliban-massacres-outlined-for-un/}}</ref>

=== Demolition of the Buddhas of Bamiyan ===
{{Main|Buddhas of Bamiyan}}
[[File:Buddha of Bamiyan.jpg|150px|thumb|Omar ordered the destruction of the [[Buddhas of Bamiyan]] (''pictured in 1976'') in March 2001, receiving international condemnation.]]
In July 1999, Mohammed Omar issued a decree in favor of the preservation of the Bamiyan Buddha statues. Because Afghanistan's Buddhist population no longer exists, so the statues are no longer worshiped, he added: "The government considers the Bamiyan statues as an example of a potential major source of income for Afghanistan from international visitors. The Taliban states that Bamiyan shall not be destroyed but protected."<ref>{{cite news |last=Harding |first=Luke |date=3 March 2001 |title=How the Buddha got his wounds |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/mar/03/books.guardianreview2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060228113747/http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0%2C4273%2C4145138%2C00.html |archive-date=28 February 2006 |access-date=23 March 2008 |location=London |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theworld.org/stories/2015/06/11/they-were-destroyed-taliban-now-buddha-statue-returns-bamiyan-3d-light-projection|title=They were destroyed by the Taliban. But now the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan have returned with 3-D light projection|date=11 June 2015|website=The World from PRX}}</ref>

In early 2000, local Taliban authorities asked for UN assistance to rebuild drainage ditches around tops of the alcoves where the Buddhas were set.<ref>Semple, Michael [http://aan-afghanistan.com/index.asp?id=1538 Why the Buddhas of Bamian were destroyed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707072441/http://aan-afghanistan.com/index.asp?id=1538 |date=7 July 2011 }}, [[Afghanistan Analysts Network]] 2 March 2011</ref>

In March 2001, the Bamiyan Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban under an edict issued from Omar, stating: "all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed."<ref>{{cite news|author=Luke Harding |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4145138,00.html |title=How the Buddha got his wounds|date=3 March 2001|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 August 2010 |location=London}}</ref> This prompted an international outcry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bearak |first=Barry |title=Over World Protests, Taliban Are Destroying Ancient Buddhas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/04/world/over-world-protests-taliban-are-destroying-ancient-buddhas.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=4 March 2001 |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> Information and Culture Minister Qadratullah Jamal told [[Associated Press]] of a decision by 400 religious clerics from across Afghanistan declaring the Buddhist statues against the tenets of Islam. "They came out with a consensus that the statues were against Islam", said Jamal. A statement issued by the [[Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs|Ministry of Religious Affairs]] of the Taliban regime justified the destruction as being in accordance with Islamic law.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 March 2001 |title=Destruction of Giant Buddhas Confirmed |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/70/story_7096_1.html |access-date=6 January 2008}}</ref> The then Taliban ambassador to Pakistan [[Abdul Salam Zaeef]] held that the destruction of the Buddhas was finally ordered by Abdul Wali, the [[Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Afghanistan)|Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice]].<ref>Zaeef p.126</ref>

Omar explained why he ordered the statues to be destroyed in an interview:

{{blockquote|I did not want to destroy the Bamiyan Buddha. In fact, some foreigners came to me and said they would like to conduct the repair work of the Bamiyan Buddha that had been slightly damaged due to rains. This shocked me. I thought, these callous people have no regard for thousands of living human beings{{snd}}the Afghans who are dying of hunger, but they are so concerned about non-living objects like the Buddha. This was extremely deplorable. That is why I ordered its destruction. Had they come for humanitarian work, I would have never ordered the Buddha's destruction.<ref>{{cite news|author=Mohammad Shehzad |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/apr/12inter.htm |title=The Rediff Interview/Mullah Omar|date=3 March 2001|work=The Rediff|access-date=27 October 2010 |location=Kabul}}</ref>}}

=== Opium production ===
{{Main|Opium production in Afghanistan}}
[[File:Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation 1994-2007b.PNG|thumb|right|350px|Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation, 1994–2007 (hectares). Before the [[United States invasion of Afghanistan|US invasion of Afghanistan]] in 2001, opium production was almost entirely eradicated (99%) by the Taliban.<ref name="drugpolicy2005">{{cite journal |last1=Farrell |first1=Graham |last2=Thorne |first2=John |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28576871 |title=Where Have All the Flowers Gone?: Evaluation of the Taliban Crackdown Against Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan |date=March 2005 |journal=[[International Journal of Drug Policy]] |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=81–91 |doi=10.1016/j.drugpo.2004.07.007 |via=[[ResearchGate]] |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Maziyar2019">{{cite book |last=Ghiabi |first=Maziyar |chapter=Crisis as an Idiom for Reforms |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HoOWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |year=2019 |title=Drugs Politics: Managing Disorder in the Islamic Republic of Iran |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=101–102 |isbn=978-1-108-47545-7 |lccn=2019001098 |access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>]]

Between 1996 and 1999, the Taliban controlled 96% of Afghanistan's poppy fields and made opium its largest source of taxation. Taxes on opium exports was the primary source of income for the Taliban during its rule and subsequent insurgency after 2001.<ref name="Chouvy1">{{Cite book |last=Chouvy |first=Pierre-Arnaud |title=Opium: uncovering the politics of the poppy |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2010 |pages=52ff}}</ref> In July 2000, Taliban leader Mohammed Omar, in an effort to eradicate [[heroin]] production in Afghanistan, declared that growing poppies was un-Islamic, resulting in one of the world's most successful anti-drug campaigns.<ref name="drugpolicy2005" /><ref name="Maziyar2019" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781789140101 |pages=188 |language=English}}</ref> The Taliban enforced a ban on poppy farming via threats, forced eradication, and public punishment of transgressors. The result was a 99% reduction in the area of opium poppy farming in Taliban-controlled areas, roughly three-quarters of the world's supply of heroin at the time.<ref name="drugpolicy2005" /><ref name="Maziyar2019" /> The ban was effective only briefly due to the deposition of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban]] in 2001.{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=678}}{{sfn|Lee|2019|p=679}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last1=Padshah |first1=Safiullah |last2=Gibbons-Neff |first2=Thomas |date=2022-04-03 |title=Taliban Outlaw Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/world/asia/taliban-opium-poppy-afghanistan.html |access-date=2022-04-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== September 11 attacks by al-Qaeda ===
{{Main|September 11 attacks|Al-Qaeda}}
Following the [[September 11 attacks]] on the United States carried out by al-Qaeda,<ref name="rjfEnglish">{{cite web |title=Wanted Information leading to the location of Mullah Omar Up to $10 Million Reward |url=http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=MullahOmar |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005050343/http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=MullahOmar |archive-date=5 October 2006 |publisher=[[Rewards for Justice Program]], [[United States Department of State|US Department of State]]}}</ref> the United States under the Bush administration issued an ultimatum to [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Afghanistan]] to hand over [[Osama bin Laden]] and other high ranking al-Qaeda officials and shut down all al-Qaeda training camps within the country. In an interview with [[Voice of America]], Omar was asked if he would give up [[Osama bin Laden]]. Omar replied, "No. We cannot do that. If we did, it means we are not Muslims, that Islam is finished. If we were afraid of attack, we could have surrendered him the last time we were threatened."<ref name="Peter Bergen">{{cite news|author=Peter Bergen|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/29/opinions/bergen-mullah-omar/|title=The man who wouldn't hand over bin Laden to the U.S.|date=21 August 2015|publisher=CNN|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref> Omar explained his position to high-ranking Taliban officials:

{{blockquote|Islam says that when a Muslim asks for shelter, give the shelter and never hand him over to enemy. And our [[Pashtunwali|Afghan tradition]] says that, even if your enemy asks for shelter, forgive him and give him shelter. Osama has helped the jihad in Afghanistan, he was with us in bad days and I am not going to give him to anyone.<ref name="Peter Bergen" />}}

Omar was adamant that bin Laden was innocent of planning the 9/11 attacks despite the accusations directed against him. Nonetheless, high-ranking Taliban officials attempted to persuade Omar to hand bin Laden over and made offers to the United States through its contacts with Pakistan. The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan [[Abdul Salam Zaeef]] said at a news conference in [[Islamabad]] that "our position in this regard is that if the Americans have evidence, they should produce it." If they could prove their allegations, he said, "we are ready for a trial of Osama bin Laden."<ref name="John Burns & Christopher Wren">{{cite news|author=John Burns & Christopher Wren|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/21/international/21CND-PAK.html|title=Without Evidence, the Taliban Refuses to Turn Over bin Laden|date=21 September 2001|work=The New York Times|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref> The Taliban foreign minister [[Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil]] also attempted to negotiate, offering the Americans the proposal of setting up a three-nation court under the supervision of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|Organisation of the Islamic Conference]] as it was a "neutral organization" or having bin Laden tried by an Islamic council in Afghanistan.<ref name="Mujib Mashal 2011">{{cite news|author=Mujib Mashal|url=http://ww.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2011/09/20119115334167663.html|title=Taliban 'offered bin Laden trial before 9/11'|year=2011|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=12 September 2016}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Muttawakil said "the US showed no interest in it."<ref name="Mujib Mashal 2011" /> The Taliban Prime Minister [[Abdul Kabir]] stated that if evidence was provided, "we would be ready to hand him over to a third country".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.terrorism5|title=Bush rejects Taliban offer to hand Bin Laden over |year=2011|work=The Guardian|access-date=15 October 2001}}</ref> Part of the reluctance to hand bin Laden over stemmed from Omar's own miscalculations. Omar thought there was "less than a 10 percent" chance that the US would do anything beyond make threats.<ref name=":5" />{{Rp|65–66}}

The Supreme Council of the Islamic Clergy, a council of around 1,000 clerics, convened in [[Kabul]] in late September 2001 and issued a decree against the United States and its threats of militarily invading Afghanistan. They also recommended that Osama bin Laden be asked to leave Afghanistan of his own free will to "avoid the current tumult" and expressed sympathy and a conciliatory tone towards those who died in the 11 September attacks: "The ulema voice their sadness over American deaths and hope America does not attack Afghanistan."<ref name="John Burns & Christopher Wren" /> The Taliban Education Minister [[Amir Khan Muttaqi]] said that Omar had agreed to follow guidance offered by the clerics and would try to encourage bin Laden to leave Afghanistan without forcibly handing him over to the United States for prosecution, even if bin Laden refused to leave the country.<ref name="John Burns & Christopher Wren" />

However, according to an interview with Pakistani journalist [[Rahimullah Yusufzai]], Omar told him:

{{blockquote|I don't want to go down in history as someone who betrayed his guest. I am willing to give my life, my regime. Since we have given him refuge I cannot throw him out now.<ref name="Peter Bergen" />}}

=== 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>