During one of the last missions by British troops in Afghanistan, the marksman took his one shot from half a mile away.
According to the Daily Mail – which called it a "record-breaking shot" – the sniper was "a lance corporal who cannot be named for security reasons."
He "was on a [December 2013] mission to intercept a suicide bomber" whom Commanders believed "was planning to blow himself up at either a UK base, an Afghan security checkpoint, or a civilian target such as a school or government building."
The mission took place with 335 British, and 90 Afghan soldiers deployed. As they moved in to tackle the bomber, a large fire fight broke out with up to 20 insurgents. It was at that point that the sniper identified his target, after noticing a machine gun under his winter shawl.
Upon firing a single shot, the man exploded. The sniper is reported to have said: “I think I’ve shot a suicide bomber.” The soldiers soon realised that another five Taliban fighters had been killed in the blast.
As the man was "moving into firing position" the sniper took his shot and "the guy exploded."
The same sniper is also reported to have killed a Taliban machine-gunner from a remarkable 4,400 feet (0.83 miles) with his first shot on tour of duty. One shot, six kills.
