Afghanistan ? Fugitive Taliban chief Mullah Omar pledged to drive foreign troops out of Afghanistan in a statement released Friday, as NATO and Afghan forces killed more than 12 of his fighters in the volatile south.

The purported message from Omar, the authenticity of which could not be immediately confirmed, urged the Taliban to “sacrifice” their lives and “never submit or accept defeat.”

“I am confident that blood of innocent people and mujahedeen will yield results,” said the statement, timed for the Muslim religious festival of Eid al-Adha. “The enemy will have to quit the region with humiliation and disgrace.”

The message, sent in Pashto language with an accompanying English translation, was received by The Associated Press in Pakistan in an e-mail from Taliban spokesman Mohammed Hanif.