Ahmad Shah Massoud

The "Lion of Panjshir," commander who fought the Soviet army and the Taliban.

Life

Engineering student

Massoud was an ethnic Tajik who studied engineering in Kabul. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he organized guerrillas in his home Panjshir Valley and repeatedly repelled large-scale Soviet offensives, earning the name "Lion of Panjshir."

Lion of Panjshir

In 1992 he led his forces into Kabul and became Minister of Defense, after which the factions descended into civil war. In 1996 the Taliban captured Kabul, and he withdrew to the north, leading the "Northern Alliance" in resistance to the Taliban.

Northern Alliance

On September 9, 2001, he was assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists, with a bomb hidden in a video camera; two days later the September 11 attacks took place.

Legacy

Massoud is regarded by many Afghans as a national hero and was posthumously awarded the title "National Hero" after 2001; during the civil war his forces were also accused of crimes against humanity.

Did you know? He loved reading and is said to have carried a collection of Persian poetry with him even on the battlefield.

Key dates

• 1979Organizes anti-Soviet guerrillas in the Panjshir
• 1992Enters Kabul; becomes Minister of Defense
• 1996Leads the Northern Alliance against the Taliban
• 2001Assassinated