Ahmad Shah Masoud, Afghan resistance leader and politician (b. Rather, they are presented on the site as archival content, intended for historical reference only. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Massoud created the mujahideen and waged a war that went on for close to a decade before the Soviets decided to cut their losses and vacate the country. Massoud was offered the opportunity to become Afghanistan’s head of state but he refused to entertain such a move till a political solution had been reached.Following the power sharing agreement, known as the Peshawar Accord reached in 1992 between the different factions in Afghanistan; Ahmad Shah Massoud became the defence minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan. This article was originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year, an annual print publication that Two years after the government came to power, an Islamic uprising was quelled and long battle of attrition began.After the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan transformed itself as a Marxist-Leninist body in charge of Afghanistan there were widespread protests across the country and Ahmad Shah Massoud contributed towards those efforts by waging a guerrilla war on government forces in the Panjshir area.

Subsequently he went to Kabul University to study engineering.During his time at Kabul University, Massoud got involved with the Jamiet-e-Islami’s student wing known as the Muslim Youth and opposed the communist government led by Mohammed Daoud Khan that had come to power in 1973. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. This biography profiles his childhood, life, military and political career and timeline. In these Peshawar Accords, Ahmad Shah Massoud was appointed as interim minister of defense for the Mujaddidi government.

Check out Britannica's new site for parents! This article was most recently revised and updated by They had six children- five daughters and one son.On 9 September, 2001 Massoud was assassinated in a suicide attack in Khwaja Bahauddin. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hezb-e-Islami refused to honour the agreement in spite of being offered the post of Prime Minister and started a war. … September 10. ), was a military leader in the Afghan mujahideen, first against the Soviets and the Soviet-backed Afghan government (1978–89) and then against the Taliban (from 1992). Who was the U.S. commander at the Battle of the Little Bighorn? Masoud, an ethnic Tajik, studied engineering before the Soviet … Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year. Massoud became one of the most important political and military figures in the country as he helped in overthrowing the communist regime and then emerged as the principal opposition to the Taliban rule later on.Ahmad Shah Massoud was born on 2 September, 1953 in Bazarak in Panjshir Province in Afghanistan in a prosperous family to Dost Mohammad Khan and his wife. It can be expected that entrenched military and diplomatic leadership will … An American Army officer, Maj. Jim Gant also made impressive gains with this approach as well. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ahmad-shah-massoud-6894.php The attack was allegedly perpetrated by Osama bin Laden with ground support from the Pakistani intelligence agency the Inter Services Intelligence.https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ahmad-shah-massoud-6894.php 1953, Bazarak, Afg.—death reported on Sept. 15, 2001, Takhar, Afg. Mohammad Omar, Afghan militant and leader of the Taliban (Pashto: Ṭālebān [“Students”]) who was the emir of Afghanistan (1996–2001). Massoud was among those commanders affiliated with the Islamic Society (one of the most influential mujahideen groups), then headed by an Azhar-trained scholar,… Ten years ago, the most famous rebel leader in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, was killed by al-Qaida as the opening salvo for the Sept. 11 attacks. It was largely due to Massoud’s dogged fight against them.After the Soviets were driven out, the communist government under Mohammad Najibullah came under the attention of the mujahideen who were led by Massoud in 1989 but it was three years later that the government finally fell. Unlike most articles on Britannica.com, Book of the Year articles are not reviewed and revised after their initial publication. …was under the command of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who instead fought the Soviets from a redoubt in the Panjanshīr River valley (commonly Panjshēr valley) northeast of Kabul. Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was known in his native Afghanistan as the ‘Lion of Panjshir’, was a political and military leader who went on to become one of the most iconic leaders in the history of the country. Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was known in his native Afghanistan as the ‘Lion of Panjshir’, was a political and military leader. Massoud was the son of a colonel in the Afghan Royal Army and lived in different parts of Afghanistan during his childhood. ), was the head of the political and religious faction known as the Taliban in Afghanistan for three years (2013–16) until he was killed in a… [29] By 27 April 1992, Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin forces had been pushed south outside Kabul, but new mujahideen groups entered Kabul ( Ittehad-e Islami , Hezb-i Wahdat , Harakat ), rivalling Jamiat and Junbish , all dividing among them the …