Iranian President Mohammad Khatami condemned the “terrorist attempt” on the life of the leader of anti-Taliban Northern Alliance Forces in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Masood, who was buried Sunday.
Masood was on Friday reported to have succumbed to the injuries he sustained in a suicide bomb attack last Sunday.
In a message of condolence sent to his Afghan counterpart
Burhanuddin Rabbani, Khatami expressed sympathy with the Afghan nation over the incident, reported the official Iranian news agency (IRNA).
"The martyrdom of Ahmad Shah Masood, the defense minister of
Afghan Islamic government, who had devoted his life to struggle
against the enemies of Afghanistan, caused deep regret and sorrow," the message said, adding, "Undoubtedly, the oppressed nation of Afghanistan will forever bear in mind Masood's bravery and combats."
Khatami expressed hope for an imminent end to war and bloodshed in next-door Afghanistan and instead establishment of peace and security in that country.
Masood's death has left a gaping hole in the anti-Taliban alliance which clings to the Panjshir, northeastern Badakhshan province and pockets of territory in the north and west.
The 48-year-old ethnic Tajik defended the Panjshir against the Soviet army throughout the 1979-89 occupation and has never let it fall to the radical Islamic militia which captured Kabul in 1996 – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
