20,000 Afghans mark anniversary of assassination

MORE than 20,000 Afghans gathered in Kabul yesterday to remember Northern Alliance military commander Ahmad Shah Masood, slain by al-Qaida operatives two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The ceremony at Kabul’s national stadium commemorated the third anniversary of Mr Masood’s

assassination and was held a day after campaigning began for Afghanistan’s first ever presidential election on October 9.