Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan political and military leader. He was a powerful military commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989. From 1992 he led the government's military wing as he defended Kabul from rival militias attacking the city. After 1996 he was the only remaining opposition commander against the totalitarian Taliban regime, which he fought against until his assassination on September 9, 2001. Massoud managed to defend his local Panjshir Valley from being taken by the Soviets and thereafter by the Taliban.
