Context

Al-Qaeda Chief Killed In US Drone Strike In Afghanistan

Ujjawal MishraAug 02, 2022, 06:20 PM | Updated 06:20 PM IST
Ayman al-Zawahiri (Pic Via Wikipedia)

Ayman al-Zawahiri (Pic Via Wikipedia)


Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri had a $25 million bounty on his head.

Context: Sheltered in Kabul, Al Zawahiri was killed on the balcony of his safe house, a compound owned by a senior Taliban leader.

Zawahiri was deeply involved, US President Biden said, in the "planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil. For decades, he was the mastermind of attacks against Americans."

  • "I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield, once and for all," Biden said.

  • "Now, justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more. People around the world no longer need to fear the vicious and determined killer," he said, according to CNN.

  • "We make it clear again tonight, that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out," Biden said.

  • Interesting choice of weapon: Al-Zawahiri was killed by two missiles fired at his safe house by a US drone.

    • The drones are believed to have used Hellfire R9X, a warhead-less missile, for the operations, reports said.

  • A modified version of the widely used Hellfire missile, the R9X has been specially built to kill terrorists without an explosion.


  • Called 'the flying Ginsu' or 'Ninja bomb' as well, the missile is designed to plunge more than 100 pounds of metal.

    • For this purpose, it is also equipped with six long, razor-like blades that are stowed inside the fuselage and deployed seconds before the missile impacts the target.

  • Using these blades, the missile slices through its target, but does not explode.

  • Gone through the grind: The weapon was under development as early as 2011.

    • It appeared for the first time in March 2017 when the US eliminated al-Qaeda deputy leader (directly below al-Zawahiri) Abu al-Khayr al-Masri while he was travelling in a car in Syria.

  • The photos of al-Masri's vehicle that emerged a few days later showed a large hole through the roof, with the car's metal and interior shredded and the front and rear parts intact.

  • "A missile with similar capabilities was considered as a “Plan B” to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that year, according to several of the officials," the Washington Post said in a report on the mystery weapon in May 2019.

  • Bottom line: Ayman al-Zawahiri's killing marks another milestone in America's seemingly never-ending war on terror.

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