Ahmad Shah Massoud

Ahmed Shah Massoud (sometimes spelled Ahmad) was a Afgahni military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning the nickname the Lion of Panjshir. In the early 1990s he became defense minister under President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Following the collapse of Rabbani's government and the rise of the Taliban, Massoud led the Northern Alliance in a prolonged civil war. As the Taliban established control over most of Afghanistan, Massoud's forces were forced into the mountainous areas of the north, where they controlled some 10% of Afghanistan's territory and perhaps 30% of its population.

Massoud was the victim of a suicide attack which occurred at Khoja Bahauddin on September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack in the United States. The attackers were two Arabs who claimed to be Belgians originally from Morocco. However their passports turned out to be stolen. According to some accounts they were posing as journalists, perhaps intending to attack several Northen Alliance council members simultaneously. They set of a bomb hidden either in a video camera or a belt worn by one of the attackers. It appears that Massoud died within 30 minutes, although his death was denied for several days. The explosion also killed Mohammed Asim Suhail, a Northern Alliance official. Mohammad Fahim Dashti and Massoud Khalili were injured. One of the attackers was killed by the explosion and the other was shot while trying to escape.

Massoud is the subject of Ken Follett's "Lay Down With Lions," a novel about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.