Army sniper kills six Taliban fighters with single bullet
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A 20-year-old Army sniper killed six Taliban fighters with a single bullet when the shot hit the trigger switch of a suicide bomb vest, according to a report.
The shot, made at a range of 850 metres, was fired by a lance corporal in the Coldstream Guards in Kakaran, southern Afghanistan, in December but has only just come to light.
Lt Col Richard Slack, commanding officer of 9/12 Royal Lancers, described what happened as British and Afghan troops engaged about 15 to 20 Taliban fighters.
“The guy was wearing a vest. He was identified by the sniper moving down a tree line and coming up over a ditch,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “He had a shawl on. It rose up and the sniper saw he had a machine gun.
“They were in contact and he was moving to a firing position. The sniper engaged him and the guy exploded.
“There was a pause on the radio and the sniper said, 'I think I’ve just shot a suicide bomber’. The rest of them were killed in the blast.”
A second suicide vest with 20kg of explosives was found nearby.
The same sniper also shot a Taliban machine gunner at a range of 1,340 metres.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments