On 9 September 2001, Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated by two al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists in Khwaja Bahauddin District, Takhar Province, Afghanistan.
Tomb of Ahmad Shah Massoud in 2011
Massoud (centre) giving a press conference at the European Parliament on 5 April 2001
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri
Sony Betacam Camcorder
Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States declared the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational military operation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal
Assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud
…al-Qaeda would conduct the deadliest terrorist attack in history and prompt a multi-decade Global War on Terrorism, beginning with an American-led invasion of Afghanistan. The timing of the attack, two days before the September 11th attacks has garnered significant attention. The exact date of the attack was not dictated…
Soviet troops in 1986 during the Soviet–Afghan War
In an address to a joint session of the US Congress on 20 September 2001, US President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban deliver Osama bin Laden and destroy bases of al-Qaeda.
In the days and weeks immediately following 9/11, Osama bin Laden repeatedly denied having any role.
US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld