SAS sniper kills terrorist commander with a .50 caliber Browning machine gun from 1.5 MILES away
It has long been believed that a long-range sniper shot in an elite regiment will be spoken about for many years that follow because of how skilled a soldier needs to be to pull it off. One particular sniper in the Special Air Service (SAS), who is a sergeant and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Syria, has proved how skilled he is as a marksman when he shot dead an ISIS militant with one round from a massive .50 caliber machine gun from 1.5 miles away. The bullet struck the terrorist in the chest with such force that his arm and shoulder was violently ripped off in the process. Sources have said that the weapon is now set to be decommissioned and taken to the headquarters of the SAS near Hereford as a memento from the incredible incident. The unnamed sniper had been on a secret mission to patrol an ISIS-controlled area of northern Afghanistan in June this year.
The terorists had been able to establish multiple bases in the area that was under patrol. The specialized team from the SAS went on their secret patrol in armed vehicles,and been watching one particular base when they suddenly spotted the ISIS commander. The man who was killed is said to be on a "kill list" that both the British and US military have made together, reported The Daily Star Sunday.
Even though the patrol was equipped with sniper rifles, the troops present all believed that the only weapon capable of hitting the commander at the time was the .50 caliber Browning that was mounted on one of the vehicles. The troops requested for permission to engage the target and the hit was approved by a senior officer with the Joint Special Operations Command HQ in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
A source close to the details of the operation told The Daily Star Sunday: "The .50 Cal has got a phenomenal range and is very accurate even though it is almost 40 years old. It can be fired on a single shot. The sniper fitted a special sight to the machine gun and got a spotter to estimate the wind speed. He also took into account the heat of the day and the light. The image of his target was quite ‘watery’ because of the heat being given off from the ground."
"The Islamic State commander was briefing his men and clearly liked the sound of his own voice because he was standing still for a least 20 minutes while his fighters sat on the ground in front of him. The sniper knew he only had one chance. It took several seconds for the round to hit the commander who appeared to fly into several pieces. For a few seconds, no-one moved. When they realised what had happened they got up and ran away."
The publication reported that the killing of the commander is believed to have saved the lives of at least 20 people.
The .50 caliber weapon was used for long-range warfare during the 1950s Korean War although this is the first time that the machine gun is believed to have been used in a purely sniping role by the elite British Army regiment. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense told the publication: "We do not comment on special forces operations."