Ahmad Shah Massoud

Killed on 9 September 2001 in northern Afghanistan by two al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists, two days before the September 11 attacks.

Overview

Ahmad Shah Massoud, known as the Lion of Panjshir, was a commander of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet occupation, repeatedly repelling offensives into the Panjshir Valley. He served as defense minister in the 1990s and became the military leader of the Northern Alliance, the main force resisting Taliban rule. Two men carrying forged press credentials obtained an interview with him at Khwaja Bahauddin and set off a bomb during the meeting. His death was widely seen as an attempt by al-Qaeda to remove a key ally of the West before the attacks on the United States. He was declared a national hero of Afghanistan.