Other high-profile airstrikes in the past have accidentally killed innocent civilians. In this case, the US carefully chose to use a type of Hellfire missile that greatly minimized the possibility of further casualties. Although U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed which variant of the Hellfire was used, experts and others familiar with counterterrorism operations said one possible choice was the top-secret Hellfire R9X — known by various nicknames, including the “knife bomb” or the “flying Ginsu ». “ That potential use of the R9X, said Klon Kitchen, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former intelligence analyst, suggests the US wanted to kill al-Zawahri with “a limited chance of collateral damage and destruction and other relevant political reasons.” A look at hellfire and how al-Zawahri was likely killed: WHAT IS A HELLFIRE GATE? Originally designed as an anti-tank missile in the 1980s, the Hellfire has been used by military and intelligence agencies over the past two decades to strike targets in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere. Precision guided missiles can be mounted on helicopters and unmanned drones and are widely used in combat around the world. More than 100,000 Hellfire missiles have been sold to the US and other countries, according to Ryan Brobst, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. “It can do enough damage to destroy most targets, such as vehicles and buildings, while not doing enough damage to city blocks to cause significant civilian casualties,” Brobst said. The US military regularly uses Hellfire missiles to kill high-value targets, including a senior al Qaeda leader in Syria last year and al Qaeda propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in 2011. WHAT KILLED AL-ZAVAHRI? The US had several options for attack. He could have used a traditional Hellfire, a bomb dropped by a manned aircraft, or a much more dangerous attack by ground forces. US Navy SEALs, for example, flew into Pakistan in helicopters and took out Osama bin Laden in a raid. In this case, the CIA opted for a drone attack. And while the CIA generally does not confirm its counterterrorism missions and closely guards information about its strikes, US government officials said two Hellfire missiles were fired at the balcony of the building where al-Zawahri was staying in Kabul. Online images of the building show damage to the balcony where the US says al-Zawahri was, but the rest of the house is standing and not badly damaged. Unlike other Hellfire models, the R9X does not carry an explosive payload. Instead, it has an array of six spinning blades that pop up on final approach to a target, Kitchen said. “One of their ancillary activities is opening vehicles and other obstacles to get to the target without having to use an explosive warhead,” he said. AVOIDING AMON VICTIMS US officials and experts made clear this week that avoiding civilian casualties was a critical factor in choosing the weapon. Less than a year ago, a US drone strike – using a more conventional Hellfire missile – hit a white Toyota Corolla sedan in a Kabul neighborhood and killed 10 civilians in and around the car, including seven children. Amid the chaotic withdrawal of the US military from Afghanistan, US forces believed there were explosives in the car and that it posed an immediate danger to troops on the ground. It was, military leaders said, a “tragic mistake” A former US official said the potential selection of an R9X is an example of the government trying to find ways to minimize collateral damage and prevent the loss of innocent lives. That missile is a very precise weapon that hits a very small area, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss counterterrorism operations. A government official said on Monday that the US had investigated the construction of the house where al-Zawahri lived to ensure that the operation could be done without threatening the structural integrity of the building and also to minimize the risks of killing civilians, including members his family who were in other parts of the house. Missile selection is ultimately a part of reducing the chance of killing civilians or causing other collateral damage. “I would say this is by far a lower-risk option,” said Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The use of hellfire, he said, “reflects a high degree of caution as opposed to dangerousness.” IS US SUPPLYING UKRAINE WITH DRONES CAPABLE OF HELLFIRE MISSILES? No. While the US has delivered billions of dollars in military aid to help Ukraine fight invading Russian troops, it is wary of providing weapons that could fire deep into Russia, possibly escalating the conflict or drawing the US into war. As a result, the US has so far not provided Hellfire missiles or drones that could launch them. Instead, the US has delivered smaller, so-called kamikaze drones such as the Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost, which instead of firing missiles, explode when they hit a target.
