Ahmad Shah Massoud

Ahmad Shah Massoud (Persian: احْمَدُ شَاهْ مَسْعُودٍ) was an Afghan military commander during the Soviet–Afghan War and later on in the civil war afterwards. He was an ethnic Tajik and a Sunni Muslim. During the civil war, he defended the capital from the Taliban, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Abdul Rashid Dostum.

Ahmad Shah Massoud
Nickname	"Brave of Panjshir" (Persian: شير پنجشیرcode: fa is deprecated ) Pakistani mercenary (Persian: مزدور پاکستانcode: fa is deprecated ) PDPA supporters say
Born	(1953-09-02)September 2, 1953 Bazarak, Panjshir, Afghanistan
Died	September 9, 2001(2001-09-09) (aged 48) Takhar Province, Afghanistan
Service/branch	Jamiat-e Islami / Shura-e Nazar (part of Mujahideen) Afghan military United Islamic Front
Years of service	1978–2001
Rank	Commander Minister of Defense Vice President of Afghanistan
Commands held	Prominent Mujahideen commander during the Soviet war in Afghanistan Defense Minister of Afghanistan and commander of the anti-Taliban United Islamic Front
Battles/wars	Soviet–Afghan War Afghan Civil War  †
Awards	National Hero of Afghanistan

After the Taliban came to power in 1996, Massoud began an armed rebellion against the Taliban government. Massoud rejected the Talibans radical interpretation of jihadist Deobandi Sunni Islam. He became the leader of the Northern Alliance which allied with NATO during the war against the Taliban.

Death

On September 9, 2001, Massoud was killed by suicide bombing by the two al-Qaeda assassins under orders by the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden two days before the September 9/11 attacks in the US.

Ahmad Shah Massoud Media

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  View of Panjshir Valley from Massoud's Tomb

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  Major resistance forces against the Soviets 1985; Army-green depicts locations of Jamiat-i Islami. Shura-e Nazar (Massoud's alliance) comprised many Jamiat positions but also those of other groups.

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  Map of the situation in Afghanistan in late 1996; Massoud (red), Dostum (green), Taliban (yellow)

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  Map of the situation in Afghanistan August 2001 – October 2001

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  Massoud with President of the European Parliament Nicole Fontaine in April 2001

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  Afghan National Army honouring Massoud's resistance at his tomb and memorial in September 2010

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  Massoud's tomb in Panjshir, 2011.

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  The Massoud Circle in Kabul, 2006

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  Group of former Soviet military men, led by Col. Leonid Khabarov (center,) standing by Massoud's Tomb, commemorating his memory (2009)

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  Massoud's private vehicles, parked in Panjshir (pictured 2010)