The deadly R9X Hellfire missile that killed al-Zawahiri with precision

New Delhi: al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by an R9X, a “Hellfire missile armed with long blades aimed at killing targets with kinetic energy to minimize major collateral damage.”

A New York Times report said that American intelligence sources had learned earlier this year that al-Zawahiri’s wife, daughter and grandchildren had relocated to a house in Kabul.

“American intelligence agencies grew increasingly confident that al-Zawahiri was at the house as well. As they did in the case of Bin Laden, intelligence officials used different sources and methods to build a so-called pattern of life that confirmed his presence,” the report said, quoting officials.

“Once al-Zawahiri arrived at the location, American officials were never aware of him leaving, and he was observed for sustained periods on the balcony where he was ultimately struck,” it said.

Al-Zawahiri was long believed to have been living in Pakistan.

“That he was killed in Kabul is a testament to not only the porous border between the two countries but also to Al Qaeda’s decades-long use of facilities, houses, buildings and compounds throughout both countries,” the report said, citing a US official.

“And unlike the relatively sleepy city of Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Bin Laden was killed by a commando raid in 2011, his successor apparently spent the last weeks of his life right smack in the Afghan capital,” it said.

With al-Zawahiri's death, all of top plotters of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are now either dead or captured.

The FBI updated its "Most Wanted Terrorist" poster on Monday with al-Zawahiri's status: "Deceased." The US claims that the Taliban violated the peace agreement by letting al-Zawahiri into the country. The Taliban claims the US violated the peace agreement by conducting a strike.