The Briton recorded most of his kills during tours of Afghanistan in 2006/7
Unnamed Royal Marine, from southern England, has 173 confirmed kills
Figure puts him ahead of the US Navy SEAL commando Chris Kyle, who had 160 confirmed kills
British sniper said to have hit 90 Taliban fighters in one day at a stronghold
Married father-of-two has completed at least five tours of duty
He has served with the Navy's elite unit for more than a decade
A Royal Marine has been revealed as the world’s deadliest sniper after 173 confirmed kills on Taliban targets.
Most of the hits took place during one six-month tour in Afghanistan – with 90 militants taken out in just one day.
At his most deadly, the sniper, who cannot be named for security reasons, was said to have killed a Taliban gunman every ten minutes.
It is believed he was using a British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle, one of the Army’s most powerful sniper weapons.
For some of his kills the Marine corporal will have been about half a mile away from the target.
His confirmed enemy kills exceed the 160 of Chris Kyle, the deadliest marksman in US military history. Kyle’s skills – which allowed him to hit targets from more than a mile away – feature in the Oscar-nominated film American Sniper.
A source close to the British marksman, a married father from the south of England, described him as ‘deadlier than the plague’.
‘Only people inside the community know about his incredible contribution – but young recruits are in awe of him,’ the source said.
‘He is one of a unique band of marksmen who have done extraordinary things.
‘He’s not the sort of man to brag. He’s very professional and humble, but with a gun in his hands this bloke is deadlier than the plague. He’s a legend, a unique breed,’ the source told the Sun.
He added that the 173 count was ‘conservative’ and unconfirmed kills would take the figure much higher.
Kyle, a member of the elite American Navy SEAL commando unit, claimed 255 kills over six years in Iraq, but only 160 of them were officially confirmed by the Pentagon.
Most of the Briton’s kills occurred during Operation Herrick V over the winter of 2006-7 when the Afghan war was at its height. He was serving with the elite Bridge Reconnaissance Force across Helmand.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2935918/The-world-s-deadly-sniper-Royal-Marine-said-173-confirmed-kills-coming-one-six-month-tour-Afghanistan.html
