Ahmad Shah Massoud Pics

Ahmad

Massoud

Shah

Average

Salt and Pepper

Bazarak, Panjshir, Afghanistan

Middle Eastern

Muslim

National Hero of Afghanistan who was assassinated 2 days before 9/11

Male

1953-09-02

Virgo

2001-09-09

Takhar Province, Afghanistan

Murdered in terrorist attack

Afghan

Ahmad Shah Massoud (احمد شاه مسعود- Aḥmad Šāh Mas‘ūd; September 1953 – September 9, 2001) was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the nickname Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd (Our Martyred Commander). An ethnic Tajik, Massoud was a moderate of the anti-Soviet resistance leaders. Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-backed government of Mohammad Najibullah, Massoud became the Defense Minister in 1992 under the government of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Following the collapse of Rabbani`s government and the rise of the Taliban in 1996, Massoud returned to the role of an armed opposition leader, serving as the military commander of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (known previously as the Northern Alliance). On September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States, Massoud was assassinated in Takhar Province of Afghanistan by suspected al-Qaeda agents. The following year, he was named "National Hero" by the order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The date of his death, September 9, is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan, known as "Massoud Day." The year following his assassination, in 2002, Massoud was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Massoud was the target of a successful suicide attack at Khwaja Bahauddin, Afghanistan on September 9, 2001. The attackers` names were alternately given as Dahmane Abd al-Sattar, husband of Malika El Aroud, and Bouraoui el-Ouaer; or 34-year-old Karim Touzani and 26-year-old Kacem Bakkali. The attackers claimed to be Belgians originally from Morocco. However, their passports turned out to be stolen and their nationality was later determined to be Tunisian. The assassins claimed to want to interview Massoud and then, while asking Massoud questions, set off a bomb in the camera, killing Massoud. The explosion also killed Mohammed Asim Suhail, a Northern Alliance official, while Mohammad Fahim Dashty and Massoud Khalili were injured. The assassins may have intended to attack several Northern Alliance council members simultaneously. The timing of the assassination, two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, is considered significant by commentators who believe Osama bin Laden ordered the assassination to help his Taliban protectors and ensure he would have their protection and co-operation in Afghanistan. Massoud was married to Sediqa Massoud. They have one son (Ahmad born in 1989) and five daughters (Fatima born in 1992, Miriam born in 1993, Aîcha born in 1995, Zohra born in 1996 and Nasrine born in 1998). His wife and his children live in Iran. The family has a great deal of prestige in the politics of Afghanistan. Of his six brothers, Ahmad Zia Massoud is the current vice-president of Afghanistan and Ahmad Wali Massoud is Afghanistan`s ambassador to the United Kingdom. After his death, Massoud was interred in a mausoleum in Panjshir Valley. A larger mausoleum is currently being constructed to replace the current one.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Shah_Massoud

French Lycee of Al Istiqlal, Kabul

Ahmad Shah Massoud

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Ahmad Shah Massoud (احمد شاه مسعود Aḥmad Šāh Masʻūd; 1953–2001) was a political and military leader in Afghanistan. He was a central figure in the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989 and in the following years of civil war. He was assassinated on September 9, 2001.

Freedom Fighter

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