Afghanistan's fugitive Taleban leader Mullah Omar has rejected an offer by President Hamid Karzai to seek reconciliation, and vowed to step up attacks.
Mr. Karzai said Sunday he was willing to listen to what Omar had to say, but that the Taleban leader would first have to account for his actions.
A purported spokesman for the Taleban Monday rejected the offer, calling Mr. Karzai nothing but a mouthpiece of Americans. Mullah Omar, in a message, repeated his call for jihad, or holy war, against the United States.
U.S.- led forces ousted the Taleban from power in late 2001, after they refused to hand over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden following the September 11th attacks on the United States.
Washington has posted a $10 million reward for Omar's capture. He and bin Laden are believed to be hiding in tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.