Its been 8 years since his assassination by homicide bombers of Al Qaeda.Ahmad Shah Massoud (احمد شاه مسعود- Aḥmad Šāh Mas‘ūd; September 1953 – 9 September 2001) was an Afghan 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. Many Afghans call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd, translating to (Our) Martyred Commander. Massoud was the most moderate and popular of the anti-Soviet resistance leaders.[1]
Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet-backed government there, Massoud became Defense Minister in 1992 under 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.
On September 9, 2001, two days prior to 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 9th, is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan, known as "Massoud Day."[2] The year following his assassination, in 2002, Massoud was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.[3].
