By SUNIL Sonkar

September 09 — Mullah Omar, the elusive Afghan Taliban leader, claimed Islamist militants are near victory over Nato forces and has asked US President Barack Obama to withdraw the troops “unconditionally and as soon as possible.”

Omar, believed to be hiding in Pakistan, has not been in public since 2001. According to BBC, in a rare statement he said that the campaign by US and NATO forces has been a “complete failure” in Afghanistan. His statement came as a mark to the end of the Muslim month of fasting Ramadan and it was posted on jihadist websites.

The statement read, “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… In the time to come, we will try to establish an Islamic, independent, perfect and strong system.”

He said that those behind the invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow Taliban in 2001 “admit themselves that all their strategies are nothing but a complete failure.”

The US troops are scheduled to march away Afghanistan in July 2011, but Obama administration said this would be only a token withdrawal and their forces will remain on Afghan soil till threat from the Taliban and al-Qaeda.