KABUL - The 15th death anniversary of Afghan National Hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, was commemorated as part of the Martyrs Week in Kabul on Thursday.
Chief  Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah, accompanied by high-ranking officials, placed a wreath of flowers at the Resistance Monument in the central capital.
Popularly known as the Lion of Panjsher, Massoud was assassinated in the Khwaja Bahauddin district of northern Takhar province on September 9, 2001 by two Arabs posing as journalists.
Flanked by Defence Minister Gen. Abdullah Habibi, Interior Minister Mohammad Jahid and other officials, the CEO paid rich tributes to Massoud at a ceremony in Public Health Square.
A number parliamentarians and senior government officials attended the ceremony, which began with playing of the national anthem. The participants paid respects to the great resistance leader and other martyrs.
President Ashraf Ghani has constituted a commission to mark the day in a befitting manner this year. The day has been declared a closed holiday.
Massoud was a powerful military commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989. He was appointed as the minister of defence under the Peshawar Accord, a power-sharing agreement, in the post-communist Afghanistan.
He was assassinatedin a suicide bombing, believed to be the first in Afghanistan, two days ahead of the September 11 attacks in the United States.(Pajhwok)