The Taliban on Sunday unveiled the final resting place of the movement’s founder, Mullah Omar, whose death and funeral they kept secret for years.

After the Taliban were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in 2001, rumors surrounding Omar’s health and whereabouts circulated. It wasn’t until April 2015 that they admitted he had died two years earlier.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Sunday that senior leaders of the movement attended a ceremony at his tomb near Omarzo in Suri district of Zabul province earlier in the day.

The Taliban returned to power in August last year, routing government forces as the US-led military propping up the regime ended a 20-year occupation.

“Since there were many enemies around and the land was occupied, it was kept secret to avoid damage to the tomb,” Mujahid said.

“Only the closest family members were aware of the place,” he added.

Images released by officials showed Taliban leaders gathered around a plain white brick tomb, covered in what appeared to be gravel and enclosed in a green metal cage.

“Now the decision has been made… there is no problem for people to visit the tomb,” Mujahid said.

Omar, who was around 55 when he died, founded the Taliban in 1993 as an antidote to the devastating civil war that broke out after decades of Soviet occupation.

Under his leadership, the Taliban instituted an extremely harsh version of Islamic rule, barring women from public life and introducing harsh public punishments – including executions and floggings.

Omar’s ceremony comes a day after Taliban officials in the province dismissed reports that the tomb of resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud in the Panjshir Valley had been vandalized.

Massoud has a mixed heritage in the country, where he is hailed by ordinary Afghans as a leader of the resistance against Soviet occupation, but loathed by the Taliban, he also fought until his assassination by al Qaeda in 2001.

His tomb is in an imposing granite and marble mausoleum overlooking the scenic Panjshir Valley and has been guarded by Taliban fighters since they took over the country in August last year.

Local residents said a newly arrived contingent of militants smashed up the tombstone, and video of the desecrated grave – which could not be verified – was released by local media and circulated widely on social channels.

“It happened when the new troops entered Panjshir. The new troops from Helmand and Kandahar destroyed the national hero’s tombstone,” a resident told AFP.

Nasrullah Malakzada, head of information and culture for Panjshir province, denied that the tomb had been damaged and released a video purporting to show it intact.

However, the clip specifically didn’t show the entire structure – particularly the part that was damaged in the original video.

Malakzada declined requests from journalists to visit or photograph the tomb himself.

Mujahid told reporters that no one has the right to insult the dead.

“Previously we had punished those who committed such acts,” he said, adding “this will also be investigated and the necessary measures taken.”