Afghanistan mourns `Lion of Panjshir'

Even after two years, Massood Khalili recalls the "frozen" grins and ominous calm of the two Middle Eastern assassins -- posing as journalists -- as they prepared their explosive-laden camera to interview Ahmed Shah Masood, the head of the northern alliance and the hardline Taliban government's No. 1 enemy.

It was Sept. 9, 2001 -- two days before the deadliest terrorist attack took down the World Trade Centers and smashed a giant hole in the Pentagon, killing about 3,000 people -- but what many believe was the first salvo in that strike was about to be fired half way around the world.

The fake reporters asked Massood their first question and Khalili, Massood's close friend and the northern alliance's ambassador to India, leaned forward to translate.

"I didn't even manage to utter the first word ... I saw this huge white and blue ball of fire engulfing us," Khalili recalled this week at his Kabul home.

In a split second the explosives went off, mortally wounding Massood and crippling Khalili. The assassins also died.

Yesterday, Afghans marked the death of the man known as the "Lion of Panjshir." More than 10,000 people packing Kabul's sports stadiums, and thousands of others made a pilgrimage to the dead leader's grave.

Flags lowered to half-staff and Massood's posters were on every corner and every shop of the capital. Black flags were erected throughout the city as the traditional sign of mourning.

Inside stadium, a choir of children sang patriotic songs and hundreds of soldiers -- members of the fledgling Afghan national army -- spread out across the field. A podium -- draped in black -- was set up for an expected speech by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and larger-than-life posters of Massood and Karzai were erected behind.

"Massood was the champion. He gave his life for us, and today we mourn him. God gave him a place in heaven. He is now among the martyrs," said a young girl, reciting a poem before the crowd.

Security extremely tight, with fears that the Taliban -- reduced to a rebel force after being ousted by US-led bombing following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack -- might target the event.

Traffic stopped in the streets around the stadium. Snipers took up positions on the nearby rooftops and police, soldiers and private American security agents were ubiquitous, carrying assault rifles and grenade launchers. Bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the area.

The attack on Massood, allegedly carried out by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, was believed to have been carefully timed to take out the main opposition leader just before the attacks on the US. Many believe bin Laden anticipated a retaliation from Washington, and wanted to make sure the main opponent of his Taliban hosts was out of the picture when it came.

Since his death, Massood has become something of a cult figure in many parts of Afghanistan, and a heroic version of his life has been promoted by his followers in the predominantly Tajik northern alliance, which dominates the government swept into power amid the US-led war in late 2001.

The anniversary yesterday was a clear display of their political might, and many of the more unsavory parts of Massood's past have been glossed over.

In the early 1990s, Massood led one of many factions in battles that completely obliterated large parts of the capital. In the devastated western part of the city, Massood's troops killed scores of minority Hazara.

After the Taliban seized power in 1996, Massood and the other factions were forced to flee. He became defense minister of the northern alliance and spent the last five years of his life fighting the Taliban from a tiny stronghold in northeastern Afghanistan.

Massood to rally international support, but little came until his death and the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Only then, backed by the US bombers, did Massood's army retake Kabul.