Agencies-Gaza post
Everything you need to know about Hellfire
The New York Times said Tuesday that the attack that killed al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, targeted a residential home in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
American analysts were likely to have killed Zawahiri with a high-precision “RX9” missile, which is intended to minimize significant collateral damage when used.
The rocket, an updated version of the AGM-114 rocket, strikes the target centrally without exploding, thereby significantly reducing the targeting circle.
The missile was introduced as an anti-tank weapon in the 1980s and began to be used on drones after the events of 11 September to target personnel.
Both the Pentagon and the CIA used the missile for special operations in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia.
The rocket, made under the name “R9X”, is equipped with an unexploded head, weighing more than 45 kilograms, whose use requires high-precision intelligence and is laser-guided, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The rocket contains six “blade” knives that breach their structure seconds before the moment of targeting in order to kill everyone in direct proximity to the target.
According to military reports, the missile penetrated more than 100 pounds of metal, designed under President Barack Obama, to reduce civilian casualties during Washington’s special operations around the world.
The missile’s design was in response to the start of hiding among civilians by officials of militant groups, in anticipation of U.S. raids.
Al-Zawahiri was the largest wanted member of the United States, given his role in al-Qaeda responsible for the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001.
Al-Zawahiri took command of Al-Qaida after its founder, Osama bin Laden, was killed in an operation in Pakistan in May 2011.
