A Canadian sniper set a new record for the longest kill shot in history, killing an Islamic State fighter in Iraq from two miles away, according to a report Thursday.
The unnamed Joint Task Force 2 sharp shooter is a member of Canada’s elite special forces and made the shot from a high-rise building sometime in the past 30 days.
The bullet from the soldier’s McMillan Tac-50 rifle flew the two miles in 10 seconds.
“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh (Islamic State) attack on Iraqi security forces,” a military official told the Toronto 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 away, the bad guys didn’t have a clue what was happening.”
Task force troops are in Iraq to advise and aid the nation’s security forces.
The longest shot record had been held by British sniper Craig Harrison whose 1.53-mile shot killed two Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
Canada removed its fighter jets from Iraq last year, but has enhanced its remaining soldiers in the country as a means of training and assisting Iraq’s forces.
