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Deadly Ace marksman ... Craig Harrison was using the Army's latest L115A3 sniper rifle
A CRACK shot saved his Brit commander from two Taliban gunmen by shooting them dead from a world record MILE and a HALF away.
Hero sniper Craig Harrison, 35, nailed the killers with a rifle bullet each as the pair manned a machine gun - then for good measure let rip a third shot that took out their weapon.
His marksmanship was all the more amazing because the enemy were firing on his trapped troop leader from 3,000ft BEYOND his rifle's effective range.
Household Cavalryman Craig, of Cheltenham, Gloucs - who went on to be the scourge of the Taliban by killing a dozen more and wounding seven - said of his record-breaking feat yesterday: "They were firing on the troop commander - I gave them the good news. They didn't f****** like it."
The previous record for a sniper kill was 7,972ft (2,430m) set by a Canadian in Afghanistan eight years ago. Corporal of Horse Craig, armed with the Army's latest L115A3 sniper rifle, beat it by 148ft (45m).
The weapon is designed to be effective up to 1,500 metres. To compensate for the spin and drift of the .338 bullets as they flew 1.54 miles - the length of 25 football pitches - Craig had to aim 6ft high and 20ins to the left. Despite the bullets travelling at almost three times the speed of sound, the married dad of one was so far away it took them 2.64 seconds to reach their targets.
said: "The first round hit the machinegunner in the stomach.
"The second insurgent grabbed the weapon as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down too. They were both dead."
He added modestly after returning from his tour of duty: "A third shot clipped the weapon - as I was hoping to render it unserviceable."
Craig's patrol - in four Jackal armoured vehicles - was ambushed south of Musa Qala while escorting a contingent of Afghan soldiers, who were on foot. He said: "The patrol was attacked and taking small arms fire. My troop commander Captain Andrew Jelinek went forward to support them. His vehicle got bogged down in a field and started taking fire while we were still parked up on a ridge.
"We saw two insurgents set up a PKM machine gun in a compound and open fire on the commander's wagon." Conditions were "perfect with no wind and clear visibility" as he used a wall to steady his rifle.
During his tour Craig twice cheated death - once when a bullet went right through his helmet. Ten days later his Jackal was blown up by a mine. He was airlifted to the UK with both forearms broken - but insisted on returning to duty just six weeks later.
A CRACK shot saved his Brit commander from two Taliban gunmen by shooting them dead from a world record MILE and a HALF away.
Hero sniper Craig Harrison, 35, nailed the killers with a rifle bullet each as the pair manned a machine gun - then for good measure let rip a third shot that took out their weapon.
His marksmanship was all the more amazing because the enemy were firing on his trapped troop leader from 3,000ft BEYOND his rifle's effective range.
Household Cavalryman Craig, of Cheltenham, Gloucs - who went on to be the scourge of the Taliban by killing a dozen more and wounding seven - said of his record-breaking feat yesterday: "They were firing on the troop commander - I gave them the good news. They didn't f****** like it."
The previous record for a sniper kill was 7,972ft (2,430m) set by a Canadian in Afghanistan eight years ago. Corporal of Horse Craig, armed with the Army's latest L115A3 sniper rifle, beat it by 148ft (45m).
The weapon is designed to be effective up to 1,500 metres. To compensate for the spin and drift of the .338 bullets as they flew 1.54 miles - the length of 25 football pitches - Craig had to aim 6ft high and 20ins to the left. Despite the bullets travelling at almost three times the speed of sound, the married dad of one was so far away it took them 2.64 seconds to reach their targets.
said: "The first round hit the machinegunner in the stomach.
"The second insurgent grabbed the weapon as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down too. They were both dead."
He added modestly after returning from his tour of duty: "A third shot clipped the weapon - as I was hoping to render it unserviceable."
Craig's patrol - in four Jackal armoured vehicles - was ambushed south of Musa Qala while escorting a contingent of Afghan soldiers, who were on foot. He said: "The patrol was attacked and taking small arms fire. My troop commander Captain Andrew Jelinek went forward to support them. His vehicle got bogged down in a field and started taking fire while we were still parked up on a ridge.
"We saw two insurgents set up a PKM machine gun in a compound and open fire on the commander's wagon." Conditions were "perfect with no wind and clear visibility" as he used a wall to steady his rifle.
During his tour Craig twice cheated death - once when a bullet went right through his helmet. Ten days later his Jackal was blown up by a mine. He was airlifted to the UK with both forearms broken - but insisted on returning to duty just six weeks later.