Taliban close to victory in Afghan: Mullah Omar

Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Omar has claimed that his fighters are near victory and has asked United States President Barack Obama to withdraw his troops 'unconditionally and as soon as possible.'

The shadowy leader who has not been seen in public since 2001 in a rare statement said his fighters were winning the war and the campaign by US and NATO forces has been a 'complete failure,' BBC reported.

Mullah Omar, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan made the statement to mark the end of the Muslim month of fasting Ramadan, which was posted on jihadist websites, monitored by Site Intelligence Groups.

"The victory of our Islamic nation over the invading infidels is now imminent and the driving force behind this is the belief in the help of Allah and unity among ourselves," he said.

"In the time to come, we will try to establish an Islamic, independent, perfect and strong system," the statement said.

The one-eyed militant leader claimed that those behind the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan which overthrew the Taliban 'admit themselves that all their strategies are nothing but a complete failure.'

Omar, who considers himself the spiritual head of Taliban commanded his fighters to observe the Taliban's code of conduct and avoid harming civilians.

Intelligence sources said that Mullah Omar hardly appears in public and has relinquished day-to-day command of the fighting to local commanders.

Though Obama administration has set July 2011 as the deadline for US troops to begin withdrawal from Afghanistan, top American field commanders have said that the date would only mark a token withdrawal and western forces would remain in the country till threat from the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

In an end-of-Ramadan message, Omar in remarks directed to the American people, said the US military had failed to achieve its objectives after nearly nine years.

"You should know that your rulers have continuously told you lies since the beginning of the aggression on Afghanistan until this very day. They have wasted hundreds of billion of dollars of your tax money in the shape of financial expenditures and your manpower," he said.

"Therefore, they should abandon their headlong stubborn policy. Otherwise, the Americans will themselves face humiliation and disgrace before any one else does that," the statement noted.