Ayman al-Zawahiri: How US spies found al-Qaeda's top man in Kabul

So al-Zawahiri may not have been blown up, but sliced up.

"There are suggestions a little-known version of the Hellfire missile was used, one without an explosive warhead. This version - called the AGM-114R9X - instead deploys six blades which swing out from the side of the missile as it approaches the target.

It is the kinetic energy from this multi-bladed weapon's speed that causes the destruction, as they slice through whatever they hit and minimises collateral damage."