Taliban vandalise tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud

In Afghanistan, Taliban has repotedly vandalize  the tomb of legendary Afghan rebel commander Ahmad Shah Massoud allegedly, on the 20th anniversary of his assassination, has sparked outrage among the people.Ahmad Shah Massoud, nicknamed the 'Lion of Panjshir', was one of the main leaders of the Afghan mujahedeen, self-styled holy warriors who defeated the Soviets in 1989. His Northern Alliance included fellow Tajiks as well as fighters from other ethnic groups, in keeping with his vision of an independent, multi-ethnic Afghanistan under a moderate form of Islamic rule.

But as the country slid into war in the early 1990s, he found himself battling rival warlords and eventually the Taliban, who seized power in 1996.During their five-year rule, his forces were confined to Panjshir and other remote areas in northeastern Afghanistan. Two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks, al-Qaida militants disguised as Arab journalists who had come to interview Massoud killed the commander in a suicide bombing.His forces remained intact, however, and partnered with the US when it invaded Afghanistan weeks later, scattering al-Qaida, which orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, and driving the Taliban from power.His son Ahmad Massoud along with former Afghan Vice Present Amrullah Saleh is now leading the Panjshir forces against the Taliban.