Record-breaking sniper kills ISIS terrorist with two-mile shot
A hero sniper took out an ISIS fanatic with an incredible 11,300-foot shot — which is more than 2 miles — the longest confirmed kill ever.
A member of Canada’s Joint Task Force 2 killed the insurgent with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle during an operation last month in Iraq, according to The Globe and Mail.
Sources wouldn’t reveal the names of the elite sniper and his spotter or the exact location where the shooting took place for operational reasons.
A military source told the Globe and Mail: “The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces.”
“Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”
The source stressed the operation fell within the strictures of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s advise-and-assist mission.
The shot took just under 10 seconds to hit the target and was fired from a high-rise location during an operation within the past four weeks.
The kill was independently verified by a video camera and other data, according to the Canadian press.
Another military source added: “Hard data on this. It isn’t an opinion. It isn’t an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was.”
“This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equaled.”
The world record for longest confirmed kill was previously held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who shot a Taliban soldier with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 8,120 feet away in 2009.
Previously, Canadian Cpl. Rob Furlong had set the world record in 2002 at 7,972 feet when he gunned down an Afghan insurgent carrying an RPK machine gun during Operation Anaconda.
Weeks before that, the record was held by Canadian Master Cpl. Arron Perry, who fatally shot an insurgent from 7,578 feet during the same operation.
Canada is not part of the Multi-National Force — Iraq, which consists of military forces from the US, UK, Australia, Spain and Poland.
The skill of the JTF2 sniper in taking down an insurgent at 11,300 feet required math skills, great eyesight, precision ammunition and firearms, and intense training.
“It is at the distance where you have to account not just for the ballistics of the round, which change over time and distance, you have to adjust for wind, and the wind would be swirling,” said a source with expertise in training Canadian special forces.
“You have to adjust for him firing from a higher location downward and as the round drops you have to account for that. And from that distance you actually have to account for the curvature of the Earth.”
The operation is reported to have involved about 200 JTF2 elite special forces in northern Iraq, primarily tasked with counter-terrorism, sniper operations and hostage rescue.
The Trudeau government has expanded the military commitment in Iraq, committing 207 Canadian special forces trainers in a mission to assist, train and advise. Canadian commandos are not meant to be involved in direct combat.
An army source said: “Canada has a world-class sniper system. It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. There is an observer.”
“This is a skill set that only a very few people have.”
The longest confirmed sniper kill shot by a US soldier was by Sgt. Bryan Kremer when he killed an Iraqi insurgent with his Barrett M82A1 rifle at 7,545 feet in 2004.
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