Sniper Kills Six Taliban With One Bullet

A British sniper killed a suicide bomber and five Taliban insurgents with a single bullet after hitting the trigger switch of the bomber's device from 930 yards (850 metres).

The shot from the 20-year-old marksman, a lance corporal in the Coldstream Guards, caused the bomb to explode.

The blast killed the bomber and five men around him, the Ministry of Defence said.

The unnamed shooter prevented another attack as a second suicide vest packed with explosives was found nearby.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Slack, the commanding officer of 9/12 Royal Lancers, told The Daily Telegraph: "The guy was wearing a vest. He was identified by the sniper moving down a tree line and coming up over a ditch.

"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."

The incident, which happened in December in Kakaran, southern Afghanistan, has just been disclosed. It is reported the soldier was using the L115A3 long-range rifle.

The Ministry of Defence describes it as a "state-of-the-art weapon used to locate and eliminate enemy activity".

The same sniper also killed another Taliban fighter from 1,465 yards (1,340m) with his first shot after arriving on the tour of duty, according to the Telegraph.

British troops are preparing to pull out of Afghanistan by the end of the year as local forces take full control of the security situation.