US officials say the laser precision was due to drone-fired Hellfires, causing no collateral damage
ISLAMABAD
The cutting-edge technology used to take out top Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri has become a hot topic for defence and intelligence officials across the world, triggering a debate and speculations on how a high-value target was eliminated.
President Joe Biden, in an address from the White House, made the announcement on Monday night that a US counterterrorism operation over the weekend in Afghanistan killed top Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. “Justice has been delivered. And this terrorist leader is no more,” Biden said.
“No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide — if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.”
No details were provided either by the White House or the Department of Defence; on how the strike was conducted against one of the plotters behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, that also carried a $25 million reward on his head.
The US Department of Defence, in a brief statement, had said; “Zawahiri was killed in an over-the-horizon operation in downtown Kabul, where he was residing as a guest of the Taliban. The house was struck by two Hellfires missiles in a precision, counterterrorism operation at 6:18am Kabul time on Sunday.”
With the absence of US boots on the ground in Afghanistan, experts believed the US could have carried out the attack only through a drone strike as it has been carrying out similar strikes in Afghanistan from its base in Kyrgyzstan in the past. The US also has bases at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
The strike also triggered a spate of accusations and allegations. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, in a statement, said that an attack on a residence in the capital violated “international principles.”
In response, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that by harbouring and protecting the Al-Qaeda leader, the Taliban had flagrantly broken the terms of the Doha Agreement.
Pakistan on its part has categorically denied any role in the strike. Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Babar Iftikhar in a statement to a private TV channel Friday night rubbished reports and categorically stated that there was “no question of Pakistani soil being used for this purpose”.
Foreign Office spokesperson responding to a question at his weekly briefing said: “There is no evidence of this action having been undertaken using Pakistan’s airspace.”
“I would refer you to the statement that we have issued (earlier) on this incident, and that is our stated position,” the spokesperson said.
A report in a English-language newspaper citing reports in the US media said the “American drone that eliminated Al Qaeda leader, Ayman al Zawahiri in Kabul was possibly launched from an airbase in Kyrgyzstan.” The report also mentioned the US administration officials who were still refusing to disclose where the drone take-off from and what route it used.
However, the US media reports did mention the military base located near the Manas International Airport close to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan – unofficially known as the Ganci Air Base – and was used as a major Transit Centre for the United States of America in Kyrgyzstan. Defence and Intelligence experts believe that though the base has been vacated by the US air force, however, there is nothing to suggest that it could not be used by the CIA.
The drone strike killed Zawahiri as soon as he walked out onto the balcony of his compound in the Sherpur area, a wealthy downtown neighbourhood, in a US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) operation.
He was living with his family in a home owned by a close aide of Sirajuddin Haqqani, interior minister of the Taliban. His wife and daughter living in the same house remained unscathed.
Images of the building showed that the entire damage from the strike appeared to be centred on the balcony. According to Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute, who shared the images on his Twitter handle, the apparent lack of explosive damage suggested that it was an R9X – “which is inert & carries self-deploying blades to kill a target with no collateral damage.”
Experts and counterterrorism sources said that the US Special Operations extensively use satellites to track terrorists and have scores of mini-satellites clandestinely tracking high-value targets. Over the year Special Operations Command has also developed several programmes to help locate high-value al-Qaeda and ISKP targets using covert tracking tags. The Hostile Force Tagging helps the US track and locate targets that use radio frequency, identification devices, and more elaborate technologies.
The US with the support of its allies has an extensive array of satellites providing it a huge edge over its adversaries. According to the Open Source data, the US has at least 406 satellites, the UK – 5, Israel – 8, Canada – 5, Germany – 6, France – 8, that significantly boost its surveillance capabilities.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the US operation to kill the al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan took several months of intelligence work to track the terrorist’s family to Kabul and identify the target. “This mission really took shape over the course of the last six, seven months,” he said in an interview.
Experts believe that the Reaper makes the most sense given its endurance and weapon capabilities. The 36 feet long aircraft with 66-foot wingspans can fly for as long as 14 hours fully loaded with laser-guided bombs and air-to-ground missiles. reaching speeds of 300 mph at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet.
