London: The use of a top-secret “ninja bomb” to kill two IS-K members accused of planning last week’s Kabul airport suicide attack has raised fresh questions over the US drone weapons programme.

The targets, who have not been identified, were reportedly killed by an R9X Hellfire missile, which deploys a fan of sword-length blades instead of an explosive warhead. A third man was injured by the strike.

The missile was suspected to be used in the death of al-Qaeda leader Abu Khayr al-Masri was killed in 2017.

The US military has made almost no public statements about the R9X.

Defence analysts believe it was developed after Barack Obama asked military chiefs to find a way of minimising the risk of collateral deaths during targeted drone strikes.

Human rights groups have warned the missile should not be seen as a “fail safe” or a way to resolve issues around America’s use of drone strikes.

From the outside, the missile is indistinguishable from a normal Hellfire, the laser-guided air-to-surface missile favoured by the US for precision drone strikes against “high-value targets”.

Inside, the 8kg high-explosive warhead has been replaced by six razor-sharp blades that spring out on impact, slicing open cars like a tin opener and skewering anyone sitting inside.

A study by Bellingcat, the investigative open-source intelligence group, found 11 apparent uses of the missile since 2017 in Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen.

So far, it appears to have been used almost exclusively against targets travelling in soft-skinned cars, and images from the aftermath of strikes suggest it does significantly reduce the damage to surrounding area.

Telegraph, London

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