These two elements suggest that the Americans used the Hellfire R9X, a missile equipped with six razor-shaped blades, which slices through its target but does not explode.
The use of the R9X has never been officially acknowledged by the Pentagon or the CIA, the two US entities responsible for the targeted assassinations of extremist leaders.
Its existence was first hinted at in March 2017, when a senior al-Qaeda leader, Abu al-Khayr al-Masri, was killed by a drone strike while driving in a car in Syria. .
Photos at the time showed a large hole through the roof of the car. The interior of the vehicle, including its occupants, had been shredded. But the front and rear of the car seemed completely intact.
Since then, a handful of targeted attacks had achieved a similar result.
Until then, Hellfire missiles – fired by helicopters or drones – were known for their powerful explosions and often the collateral damage they caused.
“Flying Ginsu” or “Ninja Bomb”
The mysterious new weapon used by Americans has been dubbed “Flying Ginsu”, after a famous 1980s TV commercial for Ginsu-branded kitchen knives, which could cut cleanly through aluminum cans. and remained perfectly sharp.
Also nicknamed the “ninja bomb”, the missile has become the ammunition of choice for killing the leaders of jihadist groups, while avoiding civilian casualties.
This is apparently what happened in Kabul, with Zawahiri.
Sunday, July 31 in the morning, the latter was standing alone on the balcony of his residence when an American drone fired two Hellfire missiles, an American official told reporters.
Members of the al-Qaeda leader’s family were present in the house, but “were deliberately not targeted and were not injured”, the official added.
Photos show blown windows on one floor, but the rest of the building, including windows on other floors, are still in place.
In Kabul, Afghans however doubted on Tuesday the announcement of the death of the leader of Al-Qaeda, hidden for months among them in the heart of the Afghan capital.
“I don’t think it’s true. It’s just propaganda,” said Kabul resident Fahim Shah, 66.
The death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the most wanted terrorists in the world and for whom the United States promised 25 million dollars for any information allowing him to be found, was announced on Monday live on television by the US President Joe Biden.
Abdul Kabir, another Kabul resident, heard the explosion caused by the strike shortly after 6:15 a.m. on Sunday. But, skeptical, he asks the United States to provide evidence to support its claim that it was Zawahiri who was killed.
“They should show the world that they killed this man and produce proof,” he said.