Knives out: ‘The Flying Ginsu’ rains blades on ISIS

The United States military used a special Hellfire missile dubbed “The Flying Ginsu” in a retaliatory airstrike against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan over the weekend, following the suicide-bomb attack in Kabul that left 13 US soldiers dead.

The missile, transported by a Reaper drone, is called an R9X and packs no explosives. It instead ejects six large blades at the target of the strike to help reduce civilian casualties. Its nickname is a nod to the popular knives sold on TV infomercials during the 1980s with the same name. It has also reportedly been referred to as the “ninja bomb.”

The weapon’s use had not previously been disclosed, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing two US officials.

In a statement, US Central Command said the operation targeted a “planner” for ISIS-K, the group also known as Islamic State Khorasan, which took credit for the deadly bombing attack that also some 170 civilians.

The identities of the individuals targeted have not been released, although the airstrike killed two people with ties to the Islamic State and injured another on Saturday, the Pentagon said.

The strike site was in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. A neighbor reportedly said three people were killed and four wounded, including a woman, disputing the Pentagon’s report.

Video of the strike site reviewed by the Journal showed a small blast hole outside a home next to an auto-rickshaw that appeared to be charred. Windows shown in the footage were blown out and walls were pocked with shrapnel.

While the US government never formally acknowledged the existence of the missile following the Journal first reporting on it in 2019, several US officials have described the missile and its use.

The suicide-bomb attack outside the Kabul airport on Thursday came as hundreds of Americans and Afghan allies attempted to evacuate the embattled country following the Taliban’s takeover two weeks ago.

President Biden had warned the perpetrators after the attack, “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

MODERN WARFARE: A Reaper drone steered by US forces has deployed a Hellfire missile (inset) nicknamed after the Ginsu TV-informercial cutlery line. The weapon fires six blades at its target in lieu of bombs, with the aim of reducing civilian casualties.