Please post additional information on General Fahim here.

New commander of the Northern Alliance troops General Mohammad Fahim (C) prays over the body of Ahmad Shah Masood in the village of Jangalak, some 160 kilometers from Kabul, during the funeral ceremony near his home village September 16, 2001. Masood, the "Lion of Panjsher," was officially declared dead on September 15 from wounds suffered in a suicide bomb attack by two men posing as Arab journalists. He was 48. REUTERS/POOL/Alexander Nemenov

Former Afghan President Barhanuddin Rabbani (C) prays next to the new commander of Northern Alliance troops General Fahim (L) in the village of Jangalak, some 160 kilometers from Kabul, during the funeral ceremony of Ahmad Shah Masood near his home village September 16, 2001. Masood, the "Lion of Panjsher," was officially declared dead on September 15 from wounds suffered in a suicide bomb attack by two men posing as Arab journalists. He was 48. REUTERS/POOL/Alexander Nemenov

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/massood_death_010915.html

K A B U L , A f g a n i s t a n, Sept. 15 —

Afghan opposition leader Ahmad Shah Massood died today of injuries suffered in a suicide bombing, said his spokesman, dealing a major blow to the northern-based alliance battling the Taliban. He was 48.

Massood died at 10 a.m local time (5:30 a.m. GMT) in northern Takhar province in a suicide attack by two men posing as television journalists. One was from Morocco and one from Tunis, spokesman Abdullah said in a telephone interview.

"It was a brutal attack on Massood by terrorists," said Abdullah, accusing Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in Tuesday's terror attacks in the United States, of orchestrating the assault. Abdullah, like many Afghans, uses only one name.

Massood's death was also confirmed by Ghulam Sakhi Ghairat, spokesman for Afghanistan's Moscow embassy, one of a few still operated by the opposition's deposed government. The flag at the embassy was flying at half-staff.

Massood's death is likely to decimate the fractious opposition, which had been held together by his charismatic leadership.

Comprised of small groups mostly representing minority ethnic and religious groups, the opposition was plagued by infighting when it ruled Afghanistan as a coalition between 1992 and 1996.

Their feuds destroyed vast neighborhoods of Kabul and killed 50,000 people, mostly civilians. They rallied together against the Taliban, but their animosities run deep.

In the attack Sunday, two men posing as journalists detonated a bomb that may have been hidden in a television camera. The blast in northern Afghanistan killed both bombers and one of Massood's spokesmen.

The bombers were identified as Mohammed Karim Tushani of Morocco and Mohammed Qasim of Tunis.

Since the attack there have been conflicting reports about Massood's condition with the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reporting his death within a day of the attack. Abdullah said that Massood died of his injuries in Khodja Bahauddin in Takhar province.

On Thursday, the Afghan opposition forces named Gen. Mohammed Fahim, an active leader of the opposition since 1973, to temporarily replace Massood. Abdullah said Fahim was named as military commander of the opposition.

The Taliban rule about 95 percent of Afghanistan, with Massood's alliance in control of the remaining 5 percent, mostly in the north.

"Massood warned the world about the threat of terrorists but they didn't listen to this. He said terrorists threatened Afghanistan and all the nation," said Abdullah, the spokesman.

Massood is survived by five daughters and a son.

I'm a little concerned that a couple of prominent members of the alliance - General Dostum and Ismail Khan - were notably absent from the funeral. There are probably some major power struggles going on behind the scenes.

I hope our CIA representatives are on the ground there, telling them to get their act together. They have a chance to be part of the new Afghan government.

I hope our CIA representatives are on the ground there, telling them to get their act together. They have a chance to be part of the new Afghan government.

The last guy who the CIA picked to fight in Afghanistan, and put on our payroll, changed sides when convenient and just killed 5000 Americans. I'm not real confident that the new guy will turn out any better.