Was America’s secretive ‘ninja’ missile used again in Syria?
Other recent uses of the “ninja” weapon include a July 18 strike, June 20 and June 15 strike.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANAn unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base(photo credit: REUTERS)
The secretive “flying ginsu,” or ninja missile, was used in Syria on Monday, according to reports. It struck and killed a car allegedly used by terrorists near Azaz, in a Turkish-occupied part of northern Syria.Many extremist groups with ties to ISIS and al-Qaeda operate in areas Turkey controls in Syria. There was discussion online about whether the impact on the vehicle showed signs of an explosion and may have been another secretive type of warhead. America’s drones officially only carry several types of munitions, but many suggest that they can be equipped with weapons that are still classified.The vehicle struck by the so-called “ninja missile” looked to be a small white truck and several people were said to be killed. It happened near Ikhtaimlat. This road is about 25 km. from the Turkish border town of Kilis. The secretive R9-X is similar to a Hellfire missile which is about 1.6 meters long, similar to the size of a person. The R9-X replaces the usual Hellfire explosive warhead with “swords” that pop-out like blades and cause the target to be crushed and mashed.It is designed to kill people such that only one or two individuals in a car are killed and others survive. In this case the missile penetrated the driver’s side and what was left of the driver was found near the truck. Blood spatter could be seen. These scenes are usually gruesome.The name of one of the dead men was given as Shuja’a Muhammad, born in 1987. But the ID of the person whose body parts were found may not be the real person who was killed, because people sometimes use fake identification. Videos showed civil defense volunteers, known as White Helmets, picking up parts of the corpse.Other recent uses of the “ninja” weapon include strikes on July 18, June 20 and June 15. The missile first came to the public’s attention in May of last year.
