US may have used bladed missiles to dismember al-Qaeda leader

Last Saturday (30), a team from the United States, two sender operation missiles Hellfire to assassinate al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiriconsidered the successor of bin Laden. The weapon, which has not yet been presented to the public, a non-explosive bladed missile.

HE missile R9X is a modified Hellfire that does not carry warheads to cause explosions. and actually, device releases six sharp blades that can slice the target. Additionally, one of the missile’s biggest differences is the reduction of secondary damage—like more deaths—as it doesn’t cause any explosions.

According to US officials, the missiles killed Zawahiri on the porch of his home in Afghanistan, so no one else was killed or injured during the operation. It was also confirmed that one of the missiles was fired by the drone.

Attack on al-Qaeda

Hellfire guided missiles by manufacturer Lockhead Martin are typically explosive and can destroy entire buildings and injure or kill people nearby. The modified version of the R9X only eliminated the target by destroying the second floor windows of Zawahiri’s house.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was responsible for the operation, but there are 28 other agencies authorized to use Hellfire missiles. For now, there is not much information about the modified version that uses a knife to slice the target.