COMMANDER AHMED SHAH MASSUD
Posted on 09/14/2001 10:19:17 AM PDT by Int
thr 051
Afghan-Masood-Death /POL/
Afghan leader Masood confirmed dead
Tehran, Sept 14, IRNA -- The legendary leader of anti-Taliban Northern
Alliance Forces in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Masood, has succumbed to
the injuries he sustained in a suicide bomb attack last Sunday,
reliable Afghan sources confirmed Friday.
They told IRNA that Masood had been seriously wounded during the
attempt on his life on September 9 and died Friday after a few days
of struggling between life and death.
On Thursday, a former Afghan warlord told the English-language
Iran News that reports that Afghan Masood is still alive following a
suicide bomb attack are false.
"Masood is indeed dead but his associates and comrades are giving
false accounts of his physical state in order to keep up the spirits
of the Northern Alliance fighters", Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told Iran
News.
The 49-year-old ethnic Tajik, the chief military obstacle
to the hardline Taliban's conquest of all of Afghanistan, had been hit
by shrapnel from a bomb detonated by two Arabs posing as journalists,
his aides said. His intelligence chief General Mohammad Fahim had been
named as his temporary replacement.
Masood, who was a distinguished guerrilla commander during the
Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989, has long been seen as the last
bulwark against full Taliban control of Afghanistan.
Masood has been among pioneers of Jihad and struggle in
Afghanistan, playing an effective and active role on all the
scenes of struggle and jihad in the country.
He has been among advocates of peace, negotiations and respect
for the rights of all Afghans.
Iran had strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Ahmad
Shah Masood, saying, "The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns
any kind of terroristic moves and totally rejects such attempts which
complicate the situation in Afghanistan."
Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan share frontier with Afghanistan,
which has been ravaged by a relentless civil war between the ruling
Taliban and northern alliance forces.
Iran still recognizes ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani, whose
forces were driven by the Taliban from the capital Kabul in 1996.
AK/AK
End
::irna 21:03
The United States has lost a good friend and an ally - a true fighter for freedom who laid down his life for the people of Afghanistan.</font size> After facing death innumerable times in the fight to rid Afghanistan of Soviet invaders, he apparently was murdered at the hands of terrorists whom he once risked his life to save.
dep
Do you think it's not true? Why would make up that their ally has died?
We seen many of these 'confirmations' over the last week, but when the Northern Alliance issues the official confirmation, that will be Breaking News.
The latest unofficial word from Northern Alliance is -
According to most recent sources in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Masood's condition has worsened in last 24 hours.Unlike what had been initially scheduled, doctors have strongly advised not to transfer Masood to a friendly country to recieve intensive medical care, because his condition is not good enough to endure transport.
Masood was the victim of a suicide bombing by two arab terrorists, presumely linked with Osama Bin Laden's network, also held responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington.
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