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Paris honours assassinated Afghan rebel leader

Paris honours assassinated Afghan rebel leader
Copyright  أ ف ب
Copyright أ ف ب
By Daniel Bellamy
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Paris has honoured Ahmad Shah Massoud with a plaque that recognises him as a hero of Afghanistan.

An Afghan rebel leader, who was assassinated after warning the European parliament of the dangers of Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, has been honoured in Paris with a plaque recognising him as a hero of Afghanistan.

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Ahmad Shah Massoud first visited Paris exactly 20 years ago, and on Saturday the city's mayor Anne Hidalgo was there to receive his son.

His father studied at a French lycee in Afghanistan, and in April 2001, he made his first visit to Europe.

He spoke to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, warning them about Al-Qaeda and bin Laden, just months before the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

Two days before those attacks, Massoud was assassinated by Al-Qaeda.

Alongside other mujahideen, Massoud fought against the Soviet Union after it invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

After that he became known as "the Lion of Panjshir" for preventing the Soviet army - and later the Taliban - from occupying Afghanistan's Panjshir valley, which was mostly inhabited by fellow ethnic Tajiks.

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