Special Forces Sniper Makes Record-Distance Kill Shot On ISIS Insurgent

A Canadian sniper has beaten the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history. In fact, the word 'beaten' doesn't really do it justice. He's shattered the previous record of 2,475 metres by a British sniper with a 3,450 metre shot, according to reports.

Sources told The Globe and Mail that someone in the Joint Task Force 2 managed to kill an Islamic State insurgent with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle 'while firing from a high-rise during an operation that took place within the last month in Iraq'. Apparently, it took under 10 seconds to hit the target.

This amount of distance can't be underestimated. Not only did he have to have an incredible eye, he also had to take into consideration the distance, wind, and the curvature of the Earth itself. This is almost unbelievable.

A military source said: "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."

So this sniper managed to take out the target without harming any civilians in the process.

But how do we know it's real? Well, it looks like the kill was independently verified by video camera and other data.

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."

The previous record was held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who, back in 2009, managed to take out a member of the Taliban with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 2,475 metres away, reports the paper.

A source explained just how incredible the feat was. He said: "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.

"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."

That's pretty damn impressive.

Topics: iraq, ISIS, Sniper

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay has been a Senior Journalist for Tyla and LADbible since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online. Contact her - [email protected]

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