The notorious person who helped Osama bin Laden in attacking the United States on 11th September 2001 and the mastermind behind the survival of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed on Sunday by an American drone.

He was at his home in Kabul and was killed by two missiles. However, what has come as a surprise to many is that there was no explosion and except for the Al Qaeda chief, no one else was harmed. This clearly points to what was possibly used by US troops to kill Zawahiri.

The Al-Qaeda Chief Was Killed Using Hellfire R9X

The United States has always been considered a superpower and is well-known for its out-of-the-box and excellent weapons. Thus, the nation made sure to show its powers yet again by killing the Al-Qaeda chief.

Hellfire R9X, the non-explosive missile

The country used Hellfire R9X, which is a warhead-less missile and has six blades attached to it, extending from the fuselage. When used against someone, the missile severely harms the target but does not explode.

The Hellfire R9X missile, also known as “flying Ginsu”, doesn’t create damage and harm anyone else, other than the target, because of its sharp knife-like blades which don’t explode. It is a kind of weapon which can be used when you have a sole target and you don’t aim to create havoc amongst those who are innocent.


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 When Was The Hellfire R9X Previously Used?

The warheadless missile was first used in March 2017 to kill Abu al-Khayr al-Masri, a senior Al-Qaeda commander. He too was killed in a drone attack in Syria. The Pentagon or CIA haven’t officially recognized the missile to date.

The US has made use of the weapon previously as well. Once in 2020, to attack a trainer in Syria, who was linked to Al-Qaeda, and once in 2019.

More About The Non-Explosive Missile

The Hellfire R9X is a new addition to the Hellfire missile family. All Hellfire missiles are air-to-ground, laser-guided, subsonic missiles which come with anti-tank capabilities. These missiles come in a variety of shapes and sizes. It is said that the weapon was created during the time when Barack Obama was the President of the US.

The missile is very precise and only harms whom it is targeting. This point can be justified because Zawahiri was at his home when the incident took place and his family members were also present. However, the missile only killed its target, without causing any harm to Zawahiri’s family and exploding his home. 


Image Credits: Google Image

Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth

Sources: NDTV, DNA India, Times of India

Find the blogger: Palak Dogra 

This post is tagged under: US, United States, Joe Biden, Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda Chief, missiles, US troops, Afghanistan

Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.


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