(Sandra Favier’s article from The LE MONDE on 03 August 2022.)
After President Joe Biden's August 1 announcement of
the death of Al-Qaeda's number one operative, Ayman al-Zawahiri, information
about the weapon used remains unclear. Mr. Biden referred to a drone strike in
his short speech from the White House. An American official told the press on
condition of anonymity that the drone had dropped two Hellfire missiles and
that no American military presence on the ground had been necessary.
Kabul, for its
part, initially denied a drone strike, referring to a "rocket" that
had hit "an empty house," before acknowledging on Tuesday morning
that an "air attack" had been carried out by "American drones."
There were no traces of an explosion on the targeted building or collateral victims, although the family of the Al-Qaeda leader was present in the house. All these clues point to the use of a secret missile, which is believed to have been involved in other targeted assassinations of extremist leaders, but whose use the Pentagon has never confirmed.
What are the clues
after the American strike? Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed on July 31 when two
missiles hit a house in Kabul. The three-story home is located in Sherpur, an
affluent area of the Afghan capital, where several villas are occupied by
senior Taliban officials and commanders.
The Al-Qaeda
leader had been spotted "multiple times and for long periods of time on
the balcony where he was finally hit" by the strike, the US official
added. There were no signs of an explosion in the building and no one else was
injured in the operation, US officials said.
Family members
were present in the house but "were deliberately not targeted and were not
injured," he added. Photos show windows on one floor blown out, but the
rest of the building, including windows on other floors, is still intact.
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| Not even a wall of Zawahir's house was damaged. |
What is a Hellfire R9X missile?
US officials did
mention the use of "Hellfire missiles" and these – the Hellfire
AGM-114 specifically – are known for their powerful explosions and, often, the
collateral damage they cause. The clues left after the American strike on Ayman
Al-Zawahiri's house accordingly suggest, as American former investigative
journalist Jay Hancock pointed out in a tweet, that the CIA used another type
of missile developed from the AGM-114 – the Hellfire R9X.
The R9X, also
known as the "ninja bomb," was developed under the Obama
administration and is said to lack an explosive charge. Equipped with six
blades that deploy before impact, it shreds its target without any blast
effect.
The use of the
R9X has never been officially acknowledged by the Pentagon or CIA, the two US
entities responsible for targeted assassinations of extremist leaders. This
mysterious weapon was named the "Flying Ginsu" after a famous 1980s
television commercial for Ginsu brand kitchen knives, which could cut cleanly
through aluminum cans and still remain perfectly sharp.
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| Hellfire R9X shredded the driver not the car. |