The US killed al-Zawahri with a ‘Ninja’ missile, with six blades in the shape of a razor

Ayman Al Zawahri was killed by two missiles that hit his residence in Kabul. But the building shows no signs of an explosion and no one else among its residents was injured during the operation, according to US officials.

These two pieces of evidence raise the possibility that the US was using the Hellfire R9X, a missile that is equipped with six razor blades that engage the target without exploding.

The use of the Hellfire R9X has never been officially acknowledged by the US Pentagon or the CIA, the two US institutions that carry out targeted attacks against leading figures of the extremist movement.

Its existence was first reported in March 2017, when a senior al-Qaeda official, Abu al-Khair al-Masri, was killed in a drone strike while traveling by car in Syria.

Photos from that incident show a large hole in the roof of the car. Inside the vehicle, the occupants were dismembered. But the front and rear of the car looked intact.

Since then, other targeted attacks have occurred with similar results.

Until then, Hellfire missiles were launched from helicopters and drones and were known for their powerful explosions and collateral damage.

The new mystery weapon being used by the Americans is called the Flying Ginsu, after a famous 1980s TV ad for Japanese Ginsu brand kitchen knives that could cut through aluminum while staying sharp.

Also called the “ninja bomb”, the missile has become the go-to weapon for killing jihadist leaders while avoiding civilian casualties.

This probably happened in Kabul with Zawahri.

On the morning of Sunday, July 31, Ayman al-Zawahri was on the balcony of his residence when a US drone fired two Hellfire missiles, a US official told reporters.

Members of Zawahri’s family were in the home at the time, but were not targeted and were not injured, the US official explained.

Photos show windows broken on one floor, but the rest of the building intact and windows on other floors in place.