New York: A Canadian soldier in Iraq has killed an Islamic State militant from more than three kilometres away, shattering the world record for a confirmed sniper kill in military history.
According to Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper, the gun specialist from the elite Joint Task Force 2 achieved the feat with a shot from a high-rise during an operation within the past 30 days.
More World News Videos
Canadian sniper breaks record for long distance kill
A soldier has killed an Islamic State militant in Iraq from more than 3km away.
"The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces," a military source - who requested anonymity because the unit's operations are classified - told the paper.
"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."
![A Canadian sniper uses a C3A1 sniper rifle.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170623162142im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/w/t/g/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwwtaz.png/1498189791148.jpg)
The 3450-metre shot, which took about 10 seconds to reach its target, was independently verified by a video camera and other data, the source said.
The prior long distance record was held by a British sniper, Craig Harrison, who in 2009 shot a Taliban gunner from 2475 metres away during an operation in Afghanistan.
Canada has been involved in the war against Islamic State since 2014, with the new government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau government expanding the number of Canadian special forces involved in training missions with Kurdish Peshmerga forces from 69 to 207.
US Sergeant Bryan Kremer has the furthest confirmed sniper kill shot by an American soldier, the Globe and Mail reported. He killed an Iraqi insurgent from 2300 meters in 2004.
![A Canadian Forces Griffon helicopter comes in for a landing near the Mosul dam in February.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170623162142im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/h/m/i/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwwtaz.png/1498189791148.jpg)
Joint Task Force troops are primarily tasked with counter-terrorism, sniper operations and hostage rescue, the paper said. The unit's snipers are members of Canadian Special Operations Regiment.
According to the quoted source, snipers usually work with an observer.
![Iraqi Federal Police soldiers in Adedat, in the Old City of west Mosul, the last area of the city under IS control, on ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170623162142im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/w/t/d/5/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwwtaz.png/1498189791148.jpg)
"Canada has a world-class sniper system," the source said. "It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. ... This is a skill set that only a very few people have."
They also have to account for wind speed and the increasing downward motion of the bullet as it loses speed over such a long distance.
"You have to adjust for him firing from a higher location downward and as the round drops you have to account for that," the source said. "And from that distance you actually have to account for the curvature of the Earth."
The Globe and Mail said the shooter used a McMillan Tac-50 rifle. The US-made rifle is known in the Canadian armed forces as the C15 Long Range Sniper Weapon and was responsible for multiple record-breaking shots during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in 2002. The weapon has a maximum effective range of around 3600 meters and weighs roughly 11 kilos.
Evan McAllister, a former Marine sergeant who served multiple deployments as a sniper in Ramadi, Iraq and in Afghanistan's Helmand province, said little is known about the capabilities of a unit like Joint Task Force 2. The unit was likely operating with an array of systems to help make the shot, he said.
"It may be likely that the sniper team had some form of assistance either from an extremely advanced rifle scope or an overhead drone," McAllister said.
"There is also a chance that the sniper couldn't exactly see the target or the impacts, but a spotter with an advanced optical device was able to verbally walk the sniper onto the target and correct his aim."
According to Newsweek, the record shot means that three of the top four longest distance confirmed kills were carried out by Canadian snipers. The top four are:
1: Canadian sniper in Iraq (2017): 3450 metres.
2: British sniper Craig Harrison in Afghanistan (2009): 2475 metres
3: Canadian sniper Rob Furlong in Afghanistan (2002): 2430 metres
4: Canadian sniper Arron Perry in Afghanistan (2002): 2310 metres
Sniper records have been kept since 1967 and are used for the development of long distance weapons.
USA Today, Washington Post
12 comments
Comment are now closed