Elite Canadian Sniper Shatters World Record With 2-Mile Kill Shot

A Canadian sniper team scan the landscape in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province in Afghanistan in 2006. John D. McHugh/AFP/Getty Images

A Canadian elite forces sniper took down an ISIS terrorist from a staggering 2.14-mile distance. It is the longest successful kill shot confirmed in military history, according to sources who spoke to the Globe and Mail.

The sniper with Joint Task Force 2 in Iraq killed the ISIS terrorist with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle last moth. Once fired, the bullet traveled for 10 seconds before reaching its target.

To make the near-impossible shot, the sniper had to calculate the distance, curvature of the earth, gravity and windage.

“The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [ISIS terrorist group] attack on Iraqi security forces,” a military source 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 verified by video and other data.

“Hard data on this. It isn’t an opinion. It isn’t an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was,” another military source told Globe and Mail.

Another military insider told The Globe: “This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.”

Before that, the record was held by another Canadian, Rob Furlong, who gunned down an Afghan insurgent from 1.5 miles in 2002.

McMillan TAC-50 heavy sniper rifle. The same rifle model was used by the Canadian sniper to set the world record for the longest kill shot. (MathKnight [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Canadian snipers are renowned and respected in the international military community. Much information about the Joint Task Force 2 is classified and the Canadian government does not comment on it. JTF2 is primarily tasked with counterterrorism. Its specialties also include direct action, hostage rescue, personnel recovery, and foreign internal defense.

Emblem of the Canadian special operations force Joint Task Force 2. Department of National Defence, Canada

The names of the sniper and his partner are currently being kept secret for security reasons. Canadian snipers operate in pairs, carrying heavy equipment deep into dangerous territory. Once a target is within range, they position themselves and follow a methodical approach before taking the shot.

“Canada has a world-class sniper system. It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. There is an observer,” a military source told Globe and Mail. “This is a skill set that only a very few people have.”

The Previous Record Holders

Craig Harrison, former British Army Sniper. Mike Searson [CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] via Wikimedia Commons

#2 - Craig Harrison

Country: United Kingdom
Rifle: .338 Lapua Magnum
Distance: 1.54 miles

In 2009, Harrison struck two Taliban machine gunners in a row. Harrison said in a BBC interview that it took him and his partner nine shots to lock in on the target. The two shots after that were both deadly, each taking out a terrorist gunner. Later that day, an Apache helicopter hovered over the territory to confirm the world-record using laser equipment.

#3 - Rob Furlong 

Country: Canada
Rifle: McMillan Tac-50
Distance: 1.5 miles

As part of Operation Anaconda in 2002, Furlong and his team saw a group of Taliban fighters moving into a mountainside position. Furlong began firing at a fighter carrying an RPK machine gun. His first shot missed. His second shot hit the fighters knapsack. The third shot hit the target’s torso, killing him. At the time the shot set the world record, surpassing the previous record set by his teammate, Aaron Perry.