Photo dated 15 August 1997 shows Afghan Commander

JABUL-OS-SARAJ, AFGHANISTAN: Photo dated 15 August 1997 shows Afghan Commander Ahmed Shah Masood (R) gesturing while talking with his commanders in this village some 60 kilometres North of Kabul. Following the capture of Mazar-i-Sharif by Taliban forces early 08 August, only two main factions stand in their way of seizing the whole country - The Shiite Moslem Hezb-i-Wahdat faction and ousted government topgun Ahmed Shah Masood, who both still remain formidable oppponents of the hardline militia. Famed for his battling against the ten-year Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979, Masood is based in the Panjshir valley north of Kabul where the moderate ethnic-Tajik has never lost control of his valley stronghold to the full might of the Red Army despite several massive attacks. Photo prise le 15 aovt 1997 a Jabul-os-Saraj, du commandant afghan Ahn Shah Massoud (D) s'entretenant avec ses commandants, qui serait dTcTdT, 24 heures aprFs l'attentat dont il a TtT victime, selon l'annonce d'un responsable amTricain le 10 septembre 2001. (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)