IRAQ — A sniper with Canada’s elite special forces in Iraq broke the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history by killing an Islamic State insurgent from more than two miles away, the Toronto newspaper the Globe and Mail is reporting.
The record-breaking shot traveled 3,540 meters, the Canadian Armed Forces said in the Globe and Mail report.
It happened last month during operations in Iraq.
“The Canadian Special Operations Command can confirm that a member of Joint Task Force 2 successfully hit a target at 3,540 metres,” the forces said in a statement. “For operational security reasons and to preserve the safety of our personnel and our Coalition partners we will not discuss precise details on when and how this incident took place.”
The sniper used a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle while firing from a high-rise building. It took about 10 seconds for the shot to find its target.
“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces,” a military source told the Globe and Mail. “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.”
The kill was independently verified by video camera and other data, the report said.
A military insider told The Globe: “This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.”
The world record was previously held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who shot a Taliban gunner with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 2,475 metres away in 2009, according to the Globe and Mail.
JTF2 special forces are primarily tasked with counterterrorism, sniper operations and hostage rescue. Much of the information about this elite organization is classified and not commented on by the government. The unit’s snipers and members of Canadian Special Operations Regiment, who are carrying out the main task of training Kurdish forces, have been operating in tough conditions in Iraq.
For operational security reasons, the Canadian military would not reveal the names of the elite Canadian sniper and his partner, nor the location where the action took place.
U.S. Sergeant Bryan Kremer has the longest confirmed sniper kill shot by a U.S. soldier. He killed an Iraqi insurgent with his Barrett M82A1 rifle at 2,300 metres in 2004.
