# Incredible Sniper Shot



## shawn murace (Feb 20, 2007)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7113916.ece



A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than a mile away. 

Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots — even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle. 

“The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright,” said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. “He went straight down and didn’t move. 

“The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.” 

The shooting — which took place while Harrison’s colleagues came under attack — was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound. 

The distance to Harrison’s two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002. 

In a remarkable tour of duty, Harrison cheated death a few weeks later when a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet but was deflected away from his skull. He later broke both arms when his army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. 

Harrison was sent back to the UK for treatment, but insisted on returning to the front line after making a full recovery. 

“I was lucky that my physical fitness levels were very high before my arms were fractured and after six weeks in plaster I was still in pretty good shape,” he said. “It hasn’t affected my ability as a sniper.” 

Harrison, from Gloucestershire, was reunited in Britain with his wife Tanya and daughter Dani, 16, last month. Recalling his shooting prowess in Helmand province, he said: “It was just unlucky for the Taliban that conditions were so good and we could see them so clearly.” 

Harrison and his colleagues were in open-topped Jackal 4x4 vehicles providing cover for an Afghan national army patrol south of Musa Qala in November last year. When the Afghan soldiers and Harrison’s troop commander came under enemy fire, the sniper, whose vehicle was further back on a ridge, trained his sights on a Taliban compound in the distance. His L115A3 long-range rifle, the army’s most powerful sniper weapon, is designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft and supposedly capable of only “harassing fire” beyond that range. 

“We saw two insurgents running through its courtyard, one in a black dishdasha, one in green,” he said. “They came forward carrying a PKM machinegun, set it up and opened fire on the commander’s wagon. 

“Conditions were perfect, no wind, mild weather, clear visibility. I rested the bipod of my weapon on a compound wall and aimed for the gunner firing the machinegun. 

“The driver of my Jackal, Trooper Cliff O’Farrell, spotted for me, providing all the information needed for the shot, which was at the extreme range of the weapon.” 

Harrison killed one machinegunner with his first attempt and felled the other with his next shot. He then let off a final round to knock the enemy weapon out of action. 

Harrison discovered that he had set a new record only on his return to UK barracks nine days ago. The previous record was held by Corporal Rob Furlong, of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, who was using a 12.7mm McMillan TAC-50 rifle. 

Tom Irwin, a director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said: “It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything.” 

News of Harrison’s success comes amid concern over a rival insurgent sharpshooter who in a five-month spree has killed up to seven British soldiers, including a sniper, in and around the Taliban stronghold of Sangin. 

In a later incident during the tour, Harrison’s patrol vehicle was hit 36 times during a Taliban ambush. “One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top,” he said. “Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt.”


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

Congratulations to the Brit sniper on two incredible shots.
I do question the wisdom of publishing his name, hometown and family
members. Where anyone with revenge on their minds could read it :-(


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## Lamar Blackmor (Aug 1, 2010)

tha is impressive.


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## shawn murace (Feb 20, 2007)

I was just re-reading the article. If it took the bullet 3 seconds to reach the target at three times the speed of sound doesn't that mean it took 9 seconds for the crack of the muzzle to reach the insurgents? Helluva demoralizer for the enemy.


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## shawn murace (Feb 20, 2007)

Thomas Barriano said:


> Congratulations to the Brit sniper on two incredible shots.
> I do question the wisdom of publishing his name, hometown and family
> members. Where anyone with revenge on their minds could read it :-(


I think this may be him 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...in-danger-of-being-kidnapped-by-al-Qaeda.html

Sniper sues Army over error which put him in danger of being kidnapped by al-Qaeda 

An Army sniper is suing the Ministry of Defence over a "catastrophic error" which put him and his family in danger of being kidnapped by al-Qaeda.



Police feared the soldier and his family could face retaliatory attacks by British-based Islamists after it was disclosed to the media that he had shot dead several Taliban gunmen at a range of 1.5 miles during during a tour in Helmand. 

The soldier and his family were forced to leave the country amid fears that he was a possible target of a kidnap plot. 

He has now lodged a "letter of claim" with the MoD, accusing it of failing in its duty of care to the soldier by allowing his identity to become public. 

The document, a copy of which has been passed to The Sunday Telegraph by a military source, also states that: 

– Police were forced to conduct an assessment of the threat to the soldier and his family. 

– He was advised there could be a real and immediate risk to his and his family's lives. 

– The family were told to leave the country while a new Army quarter was found. 

– The soldier's wife had to give up her job after the family moved. 

– His daughter was taken out of school in the run up to her GCSEs. 

– Panic alarms have been fitted in the soldier's new house. 

The letter also states that since his identity was disclosed, the soldier, who The Sunday Telegraph is not naming, he has been "medically downgraded" by the Army, and is unable to deploy on operations. 

Under the MoD's own operational security procedures, snipers' identities are kept confidential for fear that they may be targeted for retribution. 

Snipers have previously been targeted with hate mail and death threats from Islamist sympathisers because their primary function in Helmand is to kill Taliban commanders and other "high value targets". 

The soldier was interviewed during a medals parade at his regiment's barracks. 

He revealed how he had shot dead two Taleban fighters manning a machine gun. Although the sniper's rifle was only designed to be effective over a range of just under a mile, he was able to kill the insurgents at a range of 1.5 miles. 

The story was picked up by newspapers around the world and received 1.5million hits on the internet. 

The soldier had been given a prior undertaking by MoD officials that none of his personal details or those of his family would be made public. 

But it is understood that no such assurance was sought by Ministry of Defence media representatives who were present during the interview. 

The letter of claim states: "Following the reporting of the story and the publication of our client's photograph and personal details, he and his family suffered acute distress and anxiety. 

"It was described to our client by the press liaison officer as a "catastrophic error". This was also accepted later by the Media Operations team within the MoD. 

"It is our client's claim that the MoD owed him a clear duty of care to ensure that his identity was suitably disguise. The "catastrophic error" amounted to a clear breach of that duty of care." 

Simon McKay, his lawyer, said: "I confirm I have been instructed by my client to take the necessary legal action to ensure his life and that of his family are protected and that his future is not adversely affected by the major breach of security that resulted in his identity being released into the public domain. 

"It is regrettable that a full response is still awaited when the whole of my client's family's lives have been turned upside down by this grave error on the MoD's part." 

In September last year armed police were dispatched to the homes of two other snipers amid fears that they were being targeted by Islamist militants. 

In January 2007, a plot by a Birmingham-based al-Qaeda cell to kidnap a British soldier and behead him was discovered. 

The six-man cell was led by Paviz Khan, a 37-year-old father of three, who planned to kidnap a Muslim soldier and post a film of him being beheaded on the internet in a bid to deter other members of the faith from joining the British Army. 

The plan was thwarted by a year-long surveillance operation by MI5 and members of the West Midlands counter-terrorist unit. Khan was later jailed for life.


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## Thomas Barriano (Mar 27, 2006)

The guy deserves to win this law suit. Releasing and publishing his name and his families names and whereabouts was a SERIOUS error in judgment .


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

This shot happened at least a yr ago, possibly more. 
Another interesting fact was that the Brit sniper was using borrowed American amo because he was short on his own. The US amo has a bit more distance then the Brit amo aka the Discovery Channel/History channel ? reenactment of the shot.


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