Ayman al-Zawahiri : R9X Hellfire Ninja Missile: ‘Secret weapon’ used by US to kill Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri
Hellfire R9X missile: the drone missile with razor-sharp blades used to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri
‘ Secret armament’ used by CIA to kill Ayman Al- Zawahiri It’s believed that the United States used the lurid Hellfire R9X, awarhead-less bullet equipped with six razor- suchlike blades, to kill Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al- Zawahiri. Also called the” ninja lemon,” the bullet has come the US munition of choice for killing leaders of revolutionist groups while avoiding mercenary casualties.
Who Was Ayman al-Zawahiri?
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian-born physician, theologian and terrorist. He became the leader of al-Qaeda in June 2011 succeeding Osama bin Laden, who was killed in Pakistan by the United States. In July 2022, al-Zawahiri was also killed by the US in a drone strike in Afghanistan.
Dreaded global terrorist and al- Qaeda head Ayman al- Zawahiri was killed in a” perfection” strike in the centre of Kabul, the Afghanistan capital, in a major blow to the militant group since its author Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011. According to reports, Al- Zawahri was standing on the deck of his den when the two Hellfire dumdums were launched from an unmanned drone, killing him incontinently.
attesting his payoff, US President Joe Biden said, “ Now Justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more.” In a televised address to the nation from the White House on Monday, Biden said.” No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you’re a trouble to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.” He said he’d authorised the perfection strike in town Kabul and that no civilians were killed.
How was Ayman al- Zawahiri killed?
US officers, speaking on the condition of obscurity, claimed that Zawahiri was killed when he came out on the deck of his safe house in Kabul on Sunday morning and was hit by” hellfire” dumdums from a US drone. The filmland circulating on social media show no sign of an explosion, and if the US officers are to be believed, also” no bone
differently was harmed in the operation.”
Members of Zawahiri’s family were present in the home, but” were deliberately not targeted and weren’t harmed,” the functionary said.
What was the ‘secret weapon’ used by the CIA?
It’s believed that the United States used the lurid Hellfire R9X, awarhead-less bullet equipped with six razor- suchlike blades extending from the fuselage that slices through its target but doesn’t explode. Also nicknamed the” ninja lemon,” the bullet has come the top US munition for killing leaders of revolutionist groups while avoiding mercenary casualties.
What’s the Hellfire R9X?
etter known in military circles as the AGM-114 R9X, the Hellfire R9X is a US-origin missile known to cause minimum collateral damage while engaging individual targets.
Pentagon and CIA the two top US agencies which are known to take over targeted assassinations of wanted revolutionist leaders have noway intimately conceded the use of the Hellfire R9X bullet. still, it first appeared in March 2017 when Al- Qaeda elderly leader Abu al- Khayr al- Masri was killed by a drone strike while travelling in a auto in Syria.
According to Wall Street Journal, the AGM- 114 Hellfire dumdums are air- to- ground, ray- guided, subsonic dumdums with significantanti-tank capacity. The Hellfire dumdums have several variants, depending on their warhead, guidance system, and physical variations. Hellfire R9X, which uses pop-out brand blades to kill targets with minimum collateral damage, is the rearmost and peculiar addition to the line of Hellfire dumdums. It has been especially designed for targeted killings. According to WSJ, this may have been the variant of the Hellfire bullet used to bump off Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
The armament was developed reportedly under the Barack Obama Administration, with a focus on reducing mercenary casualties as terrorists decreasingly started taking women and children hostage.
Zawahiri’s payoff- A big blow to Al Qaeda
Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a$ 25 million bounty on his head, helped coordinateSept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly,000 people.” Zawahiri continued to pose an active trouble to US persons, interests and public security,” the functionary said on a conference call.” His death deals a significant blow to al Qaeda and will degrade the group s capability to operate.”
The drone attack is the first known US strike inside Afghanistan since US colors and diplomats left the country in August 2021. The move may bolster the credibility of Washington s assurances that the United States can still address pitfalls from Afghanistan without a military presence in the country.
Was the Taliban regime aware of Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul?
His death also raises questions about whether Zawahiri entered sanctuary from the Taliban following their preemption of Kabul in August 2021. The functionary said elderly Taliban officers were apprehensive of his presence in the megacity and said the United States anticipated the Taliban to abide by an agreement not to allow al Qaeda fighters tore-establish themselves in the country.
” The Taliban will have to answer for al- Zawahiri s presence in Kabul, after assuring the world they would not give safe haven to al- Qaeda terrorists,” Adam Schiff, president of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban had” grossly violated” the Doha Agreement between the two sides by hosting and sheltering Zawahiri.
Former President Barack Obama joined lawgivers in praising the operation.” Tonight’s news is also proof that it’s possible to bed out terrorism without being at war in Afghanistan,” Obama said in a Twitter communication.” And I hope it provides a small measure of peace to the9/11 families and everyone differently who has suffered at the hands of al Qaeda.”
