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Top Shot: British Sniper Takes Out Two Taliban With Single Bullet

Top Shot: British Sniper Takes Out Two Taliban With Single Bullet

"One shot, two kills"

On a remote road in the notoriously dangerous Helmand Province of Afghanistan, the bodies of two dead Taliban soldiers lay in the dust -- one a known insurgent commander. But the scene doesn't tell the amazing story behind the expert marksman who pulled off the "Quigley," a trick shot deriving its name from a Tom Selleck cowboy film. Two dead with just one bullet.

From a distance of 196 meters away, British sniper "Mark Osmond" picked off the two insurgents as they tried to flee on a motorcycle.

The circumstances are described in a new book, "Dead Men Risen: The Welsh Guards and the Real Story of Britain’s War in Afghanistan":

'On September 12, a known Taliban commander appeared on the back of a motorcycle with a passenger riding pillion.

'There was a British patrol in the village of Gorup-e Shesh Kalay and under the rules of engagement, the walkie-talkie the Taliban pair were carrying was designated a hostile act.

'As they drove off, Osmond fired warning shots with his pistol and then picked up his L96, the same weapon – serial number 0166 – he had used in Iraq and on the butt of which he had written, "I love u 0166".

'Taking deliberate aim, he fired a single shot. The bike tumbled and both men fell onto [sic] the road and lay there motionless.

'When the British patrol returned, they checked the men and confirmed they were both dead, with large holes through their heads.

'The 7.62 mm bullet Osmond had fired had passed through the heads of both men. He had achieved the rare feat of "one shot, two kills" known in the sniping business as "a Quigley."' ...

'The snipers used suppressors, reducing the sound of the muzzle blast. Although a ballistic crack could be heard, it was almost impossible to work out where the shot was coming from.

'With the bullet travelling at three times the speed of sound, a victim was unlikely to hear anything before he died.

"Osmond" and his colleague "Potter" were praised by their company commander as the "epitome of the thinking riflemen" his regiment sought to produce.  "They know the consequences of what they're doing and they are very measured men.  They are both highly dedicated to the art of sniping.  They're both quiet, softly spoken, utterly charming, two of the nicest men in the company, if the most dangerous."

h/t Daily Mail

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