article_snippet.sent: Several Afghan observers say the biography is aimed at dispelling rumors of Mohammed Omar's demise.
article_snippet.sent: There have been a lot of rumors lately about Mohammed Omar.
article_snippet.sent: Some people are saying that Mohammed Omar is not alive," said Sayyed Muhammad Akbar Agha, a former Taliban insider who has written an autobiography about Mohammed Omar days with the movement.
article_snippet.sent: I think the Taliban thought it was an important time to release Mohammed Omar biography to give assurances that Mohammed Omar is alive and present," Agha told CNN in a telephone interview.
article_snippet.sent: But years without any video or audio recordings of the fugitive have led to growing speculation that Omar may have died.
article_snippet.sent: The biography challenges rumors of Omar's death by offering a description of Omar daily work schedule, which begins with prayers, study of the Quran, and then delivering "orders in a specific way to Omar Jihadi commanders.
article_snippet.sent: Omar father, a "well-known and respected erudite and social figure," died only five years later, apparently of natural causes.
highlights_snippet.sent: An ex-Taliban insider says there have been rumors that the one-eyed militant is dead .