Afghan Rebel Leader Masood Reportedly Wounded In Assassination Attempt - 2001-09-10

The commander of Afghanistan's armed alliance, opposing the ruling Taliban, has survived an apparent assassination attempt in northern Afghanistan.

Ahmad Shah Masood received minor injuries to his legs when a bomb exploded while he was being interviewed by a group of visiting Arab journalists at his headquarters at Khodja Bahauddin in northern Afghanistan. An official in Mr. Masood's opposition force was killed in the blast, caused by an explosive device hidden in a video camera.

A spokesman for the opposition told the Associated Press News Service that two men posing as journalists were responsible. The spokesmen did not know if the men with the camera were killed in the blast.

Mr. Masood's forces, a loose coalition of primarily ethnic Uzbek and Tajik commanders, control about five percent of the country's territory. They are locked in fighting with Taliban forces north of the capital, Kabul.