Kabul, Nov 05: A former Afghan anti-Soviet fighter who joined the Taliban after falling out with anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Masood was assassinated by an unknown gunman in front of his house in Kabul today, a witness and officials said. "Shireen Agha Salangi, who rarely left his house, was shot dead in front of his house at 2:30 this afternoon (1530 IST) with five bullets by a gunman who had a silencer on his gun," his neighbour who witnessed the shooting and wished to remain anonymous said.
Salangi was a former anti-Soviet mujahedin commander during the 1979-89 Soviet invasion and later fought with Masood's northern alliance against the Taliban but fell out with the "lion of the Panjshir," who was assassinated by suspected al-Qaeda operatives on September 9, 2001.
"He was arrested and put in jail by Ahmad Shah Masood for some reason while they were in the Panjshir valley fighting the Taliban, but he escaped and joined the Taliban," said former Kabul police chief Basir Salangi who now works at the interior ministry. Bureau Report