ISLAMABAD - Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was quoted on Thursday as saying his forces would regroup and fight on, and would prefer death to participation in any broad-based government imposed on the country.

"Taliban might have committed some mistakes but it is a big development for them to regroup and reorganise," Omar was quoted as telling the BBC Pashtun service in an interview by radio via a spokesman.

"Four to five provinces are still in our control. But it makes no difference if we control one, two or 20 provinces. Once we did not even have a single province, but later we captured all the provinces. We have lost the captured provinces but it makes no difference."

Asked whether the Taliban would participate in a future broad-based government, he was quoted as saying: "We would prefer death to the government of fascists." Nampa-Reuters