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When America reportedly used a non-exploding missile to kill al-Qaeda's chief terrorist, it left the world stunned. This is because the missile was fitted with swords, and they apparently shredded Ayman al-Zawahiri to death. But ever since the killing of the 9/11 terrorist, there has been speculation whether USA's secret 'Ninja' missile is actually illegal.
Dating back over 100 years, there have been international agreements banning certain types of weapons. Weapons which use non-detectable fragments to injure targets are banned under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 1980. Explosive projectiles weighing less than 400g are prohibited under the St Petersburg Declaration, 1868.
Bullets that expand or flatten inside the target's body are banned under the Hague Declaration of 1899. Cluster munitions are prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 2008. Incendiary weapons are banned by Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 1980. Explosive remnants of war are controlled through the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Mines, booby traps, other devices are banned by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and the Convention on Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines. Blinding laser weapons are prohibited under the Conventional Weapons Convention, and poisoned weapons are banned by the Hague Regulations of 1907. Chemical weapons are prohibited under the Geneva Protocol of 1925, and the Convention on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 1993. Similarly, biological weapons are banned by the Geneva Protocol, and the Convention on Prohibition of Biological Weapons, 1972.
To see whether America's Ninja missile falls under any of these, let's take a look at its features first.
The Ninja missile is officially the Hellfire R9X and it doesn't contain explosives, but has sharp blades. It is designed to slice and shred its targets. 6 razor-sharp blades are fitted inside the missile's fuselage. They pop out seconds before the missile makes impact, shredding anything in their path. The R9X is informally called 'Ninja Bomb' and 'Flying Ginsu' - a reference to knives sold in the US in the 1970s and 1980s.
So, does the R9X violate international law?
International treaties ban weapons that injure their targets using fragments which cannot be detected in the body through X-rays. It is unclear if the R9X's blades detach, break, and get embedded in the target's body, and whether they can evade X-rays. Another type of illegal weapons are projectiles which explode upon impact, but the Ninja missile does not contain explosives. A sinister weapon prohibited under international law is cluster munitions.
These disperse small bomblets over a wide area, but the R9X doesn't fall in this category as it does not have submunitions. Bullets which flatten or expand easily in targets' bodies are also banned, but the R9X has no known projectiles. Another banned category is incendiary weapons used to set fire to non-military objects or cause injury to civilians. But America's Hellfire R9X missile does not involve any fire-causing chemical reaction.
America has never publicly revealed details about the Ninja missile, despite apparently having used it on multiple occasions. What's known about the R9X has come out through source-based news stories. The missile is used sparingly, and against top enemies of the United States.
These include Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of al-Qaeda who was killed in July 2022 in Afghanistan's Kabul. Before him, it was Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian military general killed in Iraq's Baghdad in January 2020. A year earlier, al-Qaeda operative Jamal al-Badawi was killed in Yemen's Sanaa. In March 2017, the Ninja missile was used the first time against al-Qaeda commander Abu al-Khayr al-Masri in Syria's Idlib.
The Hellfire R9X does not appear to be illegal. But in case a country uses banned weapons, then the International Criminal Court at The Hague can hold a trial. Alleged violations can also be tried in national courts.
Although international treaties cover many conventional weapons, the world now needs to get together and regulate a new class of dangerous weapons - autonomous arms with artificial intelligence.

Is USA's Ninja missile illegal? Blade weapon which killed al-Zawahiri breaks global law? | Doom Tech

Dating back over 100 years, there have been multiple international agreements banning certain types of weapons.

When America reportedly used a non-exploding missile to kill al-Qaeda's chief terrorist, it left the world stunned. This is because the missile was fitted with swords, and they apparently shredded Ayman al-Zawahiri to death. But ever since the killing of the 9/11 terrorist, there has been speculation whether USA's secret 'Ninja' missile is actually illegal.
Dating back over 100 years, there have been international agreements banning certain types of weapons. Weapons which use non-detectable fragments to injure targets are banned under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 1980. Explosive projectiles weighing less than 400g are prohibited under the St Petersburg Declaration, 1868.
Bullets that expand or flatten inside the target's body are banned under the Hague Declaration of 1899. Cluster munitions are prohibited by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, 2008. Incendiary weapons are banned by Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, 1980. Explosive remnants of war are controlled through the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.
Mines, booby traps, other devices are banned by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, and the Convention on Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines. Blinding laser weapons are prohibited under the Conventional Weapons Convention, and poisoned weapons are banned by the Hague Regulations of 1907. Chemical weapons are prohibited under the Geneva Protocol of 1925, and the Convention on Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 1993. Similarly, biological weapons are banned by the Geneva Protocol, and the Convention on Prohibition of Biological Weapons, 1972.
To see whether America's Ninja missile falls under any of these, let's take a look at its features first.
The Ninja missile is officially the Hellfire R9X and it doesn't contain explosives, but has sharp blades. It is designed to slice and shred its targets. 6 razor-sharp blades are fitted inside the missile's fuselage. They pop out seconds before the missile makes impact, shredding anything in their path. The R9X is informally called 'Ninja Bomb' and 'Flying Ginsu' - a reference to knives sold in the US in the 1970s and 1980s.
So, does the R9X violate international law?
International treaties ban weapons that injure their targets using fragments which cannot be detected in the body through X-rays. It is unclear if the R9X's blades detach, break, and get embedded in the target's body, and whether they can evade X-rays. Another type of illegal weapons are projectiles which explode upon impact, but the Ninja missile does not contain explosives. A sinister weapon prohibited under international law is cluster munitions.
These disperse small bomblets over a wide area, but the R9X doesn't fall in this category as it does not have submunitions. Bullets which flatten or expand easily in targets' bodies are also banned, but the R9X has no known projectiles. Another banned category is incendiary weapons used to set fire to non-military objects or cause injury to civilians. But America's Hellfire R9X missile does not involve any fire-causing chemical reaction.
America has never publicly revealed details about the Ninja missile, despite apparently having used it on multiple occasions. What's known about the R9X has come out through source-based news stories. The missile is used sparingly, and against top enemies of the United States.
These include Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of al-Qaeda who was killed in July 2022 in Afghanistan's Kabul. Before him, it was Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian military general killed in Iraq's Baghdad in January 2020. A year earlier, al-Qaeda operative Jamal al-Badawi was killed in Yemen's Sanaa. In March 2017, the Ninja missile was used the first time against al-Qaeda commander Abu al-Khayr al-Masri in Syria's Idlib.
The Hellfire R9X does not appear to be illegal. But in case a country uses banned weapons, then the International Criminal Court at The Hague can hold a trial. Alleged violations can also be tried in national courts.
Although international treaties cover many conventional weapons, the world now needs to get together and regulate a new class of dangerous weapons - autonomous arms with artificial intelligence.

President Joe Biden announced that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, an operation he hailed as delivering "justice" while expressing hope that it brings "one more measure of closure" to families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The president said in a Monday evening address from the White House that US intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday.
Al-Zawahri and the better known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaida. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation carried out by US Navy Seals after a nearly decade-long hunt.
"He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we're going to make sure that nothing else happens," Biden said.
"This terrorist leader is no more," he added.
The operation is a significant counterterrorism win for the Biden administration just 11 months after American troops left the country after a two-decade war.
The strike was carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Neither Biden nor the White House detailed the CIA's involvement in the strike.
Biden, however, paid tribute to the US intelligence community in his remarks, noting that "thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill", the operation was a "success." Al-Zawahri's loss eliminates the figure who more than anyone shaped al-Qaida, first as bin Laden's deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi movement's guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil — the September 11 suicide hijackings.
The house Al-Zawahri was in when he was killed was owned by a top aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to a senior intelligence official. The official also added that a CIA ground team and aerial reconnaissance conducted after the drone strike confirmed al-Zawahri's death.
A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the operation on condition of anonymity said "zero" US personnel were in Kabul.
Over the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the US targeted and splintered al-Qaida, sending leaders into hiding. But America's exit from Afghanistan last September gave the extremist group the opportunity to rebuild. US military officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said al-Qaida was trying to reconstitute in Afghanistan, where it faced limited threats from the now-ruling Taliban. Military leaders have warned that the group still aspired to attack the US.
After his killing, the White House sought to underscore that al-Zawahri had continued to be a dangerous figure. The senior administration official said he had continued to "provide strategic direction," including urging attacks on the US, while in hiding.
The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon made bin Laden America's Enemy No. 1. But he likely could never have carried it out without his deputy. Bin Laden provided al-Qaida with charisma and money, but al-Zawahri brought tactics and organisational skills needed to forge militants into a network of cells in countries around the world.
US intelligence officials have been aware for years of a network helping al-Zawahri dodge US intelligence officials hunting for him, but didn't have a bead on his possible location until recent months.
Earlier this year, US officials learned that the terror leader's wife, daughter and her children had relocated to a safe house in Kabul, according to the senior administration official who briefed reporters.
Officials eventually learned al-Zawahri was also at the Kabul safe house.
In early April, White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer and Biden's homeland security adviser Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall were briefed on this developing intelligence. Soon the intelligence was carried up to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan brought the information to Biden as US intelligence officials built "a pattern of life through multiple independent sources of information to inform the operation," the official said.
Senior Taliban figures were aware of al-Zawahri's presence in Kabul, according to the official, who added the Taliban government was given no forewarning of the operation.
Inside the Biden administration, only a small group of officials at key agencies, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, were brought into the process.
On July 1, Biden was briefed in the Situation Room about the planned operation, a briefing in which the president closely examined a model of the home Zawahri was hiding out in. He gave his final approval for the operation on Thursday. Al-Zawahri was standing on the balcony of his hideout when the two Hellfire missiles were launched from an unmanned drone, killing him.
Al-Zawahri's family was in another part of the house when the operation was carried out, and no one else was believed to have been killed in the operation, the official said.
"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.

Ayman al-Zawahri News : killing of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri is long-sought 'justice' : Joe Biden

Biden: killing of al-Qaeda leader  Ayman al-Zawahri is long-sought 'justice'

Biden: killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri is long-sought 'justice'

"He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we're going to make sure that nothing else happens," Biden said.

Ayman al-Zawahri News : U.S. President Joe Biden announced that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul, an operation he hailed as delivering "justice" while expressing hope that it brings "one more measure of closure" to families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The president said in a Monday evening address from the White House that US intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday.
<a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/who-was-al-qaeda-leader-ayman-al-zawahri-1659419979299">Al-Zawahri</a> and the better known Osama bin Laden plotted the 9/11 attacks that brought many ordinary Americans their first knowledge of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an operation carried out by US Navy Seals after a nearly decade-long hunt.
"He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we're going to make sure that nothing else happens," Biden said.
"This terrorist leader is no more," he added.
The operation is a significant counterterrorism win for the Biden administration just 11 months after American troops left the country after a two-decade war.
The strike was carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Neither Biden nor the White House detailed the CIA's involvement in the strike.
Biden, however, paid tribute to the US intelligence community in his remarks, noting that "thanks to their extraordinary persistence and skill", the operation was a "success." Al-Zawahri's loss eliminates the figure who more than anyone shaped al-Qaieda, first as bin Laden's deputy since 1998, then as his successor. Together, he and bin Laden turned the jihadi movement's guns to target the United States, carrying out the deadliest attack ever on American soil &mdash; the September 11 suicide hijackings.
The house Al-Zawahri was in when he was killed was owned by a top aide to senior Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, according to a senior intelligence official. The official also added that a CIA ground team and aerial reconnaissance conducted after the drone strike confirmed al-Zawahri's death.
A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the operation on condition of anonymity said "zero" US personnel were in Kabul.
Over the 20-year war in Afghanistan, the US targeted and splintered al-Qaeda, sending leaders into hiding. But America's exit from Afghanistan last September gave the extremist group the opportunity to rebuild. US military officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said al-Qaeda was trying to reconstitute in Afghanistan, where it faced limited threats from the now-ruling Taliban. Military leaders have warned that the group still aspired to attack the US.
After his killing, the White House sought to underscore that al-Zawahri had continued to be a dangerous figure. The senior administration official said he had continued to "provide strategic direction," including urging attacks on the US, while in hiding.
The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon made bin Laden America's Enemy No. 1. But he likely could never have carried it out without his deputy. Bin Laden provided al-Qaeda with charisma and money, but al-Zawahri brought tactics and organisational skills needed to forge militants into a network of cells in countries around the world.
US intelligence officials have been aware for years of a network helping al-Zawahri dodge US intelligence officials hunting for him, but didn't have a bead on his possible location until recent months.
Earlier this year, US officials learned that the terror leader's wife, daughter and her children had relocated to a safe house in Kabul, according to the senior administration official who briefed reporters.
Also watch: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/world-news/why-killing-of-al-qaeda-s-ayman-al-zawahri-is-important-in-fight-against-terror-1659419137229">Why killing of al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri is important in fight against terror</a>
Officials eventually learned al-Zawahri was also at the Kabul safe house.
In early April, White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer and Biden's homeland security adviser Elizabeth D. Sherwood-Randall were briefed on this developing intelligence. Soon the intelligence was carried up to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan brought the information to Biden as US intelligence officials built "a pattern of life through multiple independent sources of information to inform the operation," the official said.
Senior Taliban figures were aware of al-Zawahri's presence in Kabul, according to the official, who added the Taliban government was given no forewarning of the operation.
Inside the Biden administration, only a small group of officials at key agencies, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, were brought into the process.
On July 1, Biden was briefed in the Situation Room about the planned operation, a briefing in which the president closely examined a model of the home Zawahri was hiding out in. He gave his final approval for the operation on Thursday. Al-Zawahri was standing on the balcony of his hideout when the two Hellfire missiles were launched from an unmanned drone, killing him.
Al-Zawahri's family was in another part of the house when the operation was carried out, and no one else was believed to have been killed in the operation, the official said.
"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.

An American military operation to kill al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has once again pointed to the use of a weapon whose existence has never been officially confirmed. Here is why the unusual after-effects of the attack on al-Zawahiri have prompted fresh speculation about a so-called 'ninja bomb'.
In the operation on 31 July 2022, the al-Qaeda chief was targeted when he was standing on the balcony of his house in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. A US drone is believed to have launched 2 Hellfire missiles at al-Zawahiri, killing him.
Windows were reportedly blown out on one floor of the house, but the rest of the structure remained intact. No sign of an explosion was reported from the safehouse. The American government said that al-Zawahiri's family was inside the house, but did not suffer any harm. Nor were any other civilians injured in the operation.
ALSO WATCH |
But how is this possible? How could a missile cause no damage, except kill its target - one person?
The well-known AGM-114 Hellfire missiles are famous for their destructive firepower. They began as anti-tank weapons in the 1980s, but after the 9/11 attacks, Hellfires started being used as drone weapons to kill individuals.
But to kill al-Zawahiri, USA is believed to have used a special variant of the Hellfire - the R9X. The R9X does not contain explosives, but instead houses sharp blades. The R9X is designed to slice and shred its targets.
There are 6 razor-sharp blades fitted inside the missile fuselage. They pop out seconds before the missile makes impact. These sharp blades shred anything in the missile's path. Because of this, the R9X is informally called the 'Flying Ginsu' - a reference to knives sold in the 1970s and 1980s - and also 'Ninja Bomb'.
One of the hardest parts of using the R9X effectively is acquiring exact information about the target's location and the situation around them. But since chances of civilian casualties are reduced, it also provides more opportunities to attack.
The R9X reportedly had another predecessor without explosives. That missile had been designed to hit the target with over 100 pounds of weight thus killing without a blast. It could punch through cars and roofs.
The R9X 'Ninja Bomb' is believed to have felled many high-profile enemies of America. The R9X's first use is believed to have been against al-Qaeda commander Abu al-Khayr al-Masri who was killed in Syria's Idlib in March 2017. al-Masri targeted when he was travelling in a car. Like al-Zawahiri, no explosion occurred, but the car ended up with a huge hole in the roof, as per reports. All of the car's passengers had been shredded to death, but the front and rear of al-Masri's vehicle had remained intact.
The second probable use of the R9X took place against another al-Qaeda terrorist Jamal al-Badawi who was killed near Yemen's Sanaa in January 2019. An airstrike hit al-Badawi when he was alone in a vehicle. He was killed for his role in the bombing of American warship USS Cole. The attack in the year 2000 had killed 17 soldiers at a Yemeni port.
Another instance of the R9X's use is believed to have been a deadly attack on a top Iranian military commander. General Qassem Soleimani, who was head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed at the Baghdad airport in January 2020. A drone strike at his convoy had also killed leaders of Iran-backed militias in the region.
Reports say that the R9X 'Ninja Bomb' had been part of Plan B to kill 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. But the final operation was carried out on the ground by US Special Forces.
So what motivated America to develop a sword missile?
The Hellfire's R9X variant was reportedly designed during Barack Obama's tenure as US President. The objective behind the project was to avoid civilian deaths and reduce collateral damage in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen etc.
The need for such a weapon was also felt as terrorists were beginning to escape airstrikes by hiding among women and children. The R9X missile also solved the "right seat, left seat" problem, according to officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal. This means that the missile can theoretically kill the passenger in a car without hurting the driver - an allusion to collateral damage.
al-Zawahiri has now joined a long list of enemies killed by America. But why did the US want to get rid of him?
al-Zawahiri played a big role in the 9/11 terror attacks, and was also blamed for the 1998 bombings at US embassies in Tanzania, and Kenya. US President Joe Biden called al-Zawahiri's death a moment of justice for almost 3,000 terror victims and their families.
al-Zawahiri became the leader of al-Qaeda after bin Laden's death. The US had placed a $25 million bounty on al-Zawahiri's head. He was born in 1951 in a prominent Egyptian family, and had been an eye surgeon when he was young.
This operation by the US military has shown that it may have pulled troops out of Afghanistan, but intends to put pressure on the Taliban to stop sheltering mass murderers.

Doom Tech | 'Ninja' missile with blades, no blast: USA's secret weapon killed al Qaeda chief al Zawahiri? | Hellfire R9X | Flying Ginsu | Ninja Bomb

Doom Tech | 'Ninja' missile with blades, no blast: USA's secret weapon killed al Qaeda chief al Zawahiri?


American forces are believed to have used the Hellfire R9X blade-fitted missiles to kill al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri at his Kabul house.

An American military operation to kill al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has once again pointed to the use of a weapon whose existence has never been officially confirmed. Here is why the unusual after-effects of the attack on al-Zawahiri have prompted fresh speculation about a so-called 'ninja bomb'.
In the operation on 31 July 2022, the al-Qaeda chief was targeted when he was standing on the balcony of his house in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. A US drone is believed to have launched 2 Hellfire missiles at al-Zawahiri, killing him.
Windows were reportedly blown out on one floor of the house, but the rest of the structure remained intact. No sign of an explosion was reported from the safehouse. The American government said that al-Zawahiri's family was inside the house, but did not suffer any harm. Nor were any other civilians injured in the operation.
ALSO WATCH | <a href="https://www.editorji.com/in-depth/the-hook/doom-tech-why-putin-is-scared-of-birds-usa-s-pigeon-guided-missile-project-bio-weapon-claim-decoded-1659124325077">Doom Tech | Why Putin is scared of birds; USA's pigeon-guided missile project: bio-weapon claim decoded</a>
But how is this possible? How could a missile cause no damage, except kill its target - one person?
The well-known AGM-114 Hellfire missiles are famous for their destructive firepower. They began as anti-tank weapons in the 1980s, but after the 9/11 attacks, Hellfires started being used as drone weapons to kill individuals.
But to kill al-Zawahiri, USA is believed to have used a special variant of the Hellfire - the R9X. The R9X does not contain explosives, but instead houses sharp blades. The R9X is designed to slice and shred its targets.
There are 6 razor-sharp blades fitted inside the missile fuselage. They pop out seconds before the missile makes impact. These sharp blades shred anything in the missile's path. Because of this, the R9X is informally called the 'Flying Ginsu' - a reference to knives sold in the 1970s and 1980s - and also 'Ninja Bomb'.
ALSO WATCH | <a href="https://www.editorji.com/in-depth/the-hook/doom-tech-usa-s-earthquake-weapon-nikola-tesla-s-design-haarp-truth-conspiracy-theory-decoded-1658517563354">Doom Tech | USA's earthquake weapon; Nikola Tesla's design; HAARP truth: conspiracy theory decoded</a>
One of the hardest parts of using the R9X effectively is acquiring exact information about the target's location and the situation around them. But since chances of civilian casualties are reduced, it also provides more opportunities to attack.
The R9X reportedly had another predecessor without explosives. That missile had been designed to hit the target with over 100 pounds of weight thus killing without a blast. It could punch through cars and roofs.
The R9X 'Ninja Bomb' is believed to have felled many high-profile enemies of America. The R9X's first use is believed to have been against al-Qaeda commander Abu al-Khayr al-Masri who was killed in Syria's Idlib in March 2017. al-Masri targeted when he was travelling in a car. Like al-Zawahiri, no explosion occurred, but the car ended up with a huge hole in the roof, as per reports. All of the car's passengers had been shredded to death, but the front and rear of al-Masri's vehicle had remained intact.
The second probable use of the R9X took place against another al-Qaeda terrorist Jamal al-Badawi who was killed near Yemen's Sanaa in January 2019. An airstrike hit al-Badawi when he was alone in a vehicle. He was killed for his role in the bombing of American warship USS Cole. The attack in the year 2000 had killed 17 soldiers at a Yemeni port.
Another instance of the R9X's use is believed to have been a deadly attack on a top Iranian military commander. General Qassem Soleimani, who was head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed at the Baghdad airport in January 2020. A drone strike at his convoy had also killed leaders of Iran-backed militias in the region.
Reports say that the R9X 'Ninja Bomb' had been part of Plan B to kill 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. But the final operation was carried out on the ground by US Special Forces.
So what motivated America to develop a sword missile?
The Hellfire's R9X variant was reportedly designed during Barack Obama's tenure as US President. The objective behind the project was to avoid civilian deaths and reduce collateral damage in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen etc.
The need for such a weapon was also felt as terrorists were beginning to escape airstrikes by hiding among women and children. The R9X missile also solved the "right seat, left seat" problem, according to officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal. This means that the missile can theoretically kill the passenger in a car without hurting the driver - an allusion to collateral damage.
al-Zawahiri has now joined a long list of enemies killed by America. But why did the US want to get rid of him?
al-Zawahiri played a big role in the 9/11 terror attacks, and was also blamed for the 1998 bombings at US embassies in Tanzania, and Kenya. US President Joe Biden called al-Zawahiri's death a moment of justice for almost 3,000 terror victims and their families.
al-Zawahiri became the leader of al-Qaeda after bin Laden's death. The US had placed a $25 million bounty on al-Zawahiri's head. He was born in 1951 in a prominent Egyptian family, and had been an eye surgeon when he was young.
This operation by the US military has shown that it may have pulled troops out of Afghanistan, but intends to put pressure on the Taliban to stop sheltering mass murderers.

ayman al zawahiri

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