1 MILE SHOT TAKES OUT TALIBAN CHIEF; Top sniper records longest rifle-kill in Afghanistan.

Byline: CHRIS HUGHES

A HAWK-EYED sniper killed a Taliban warlord during a fierce gun battle - from 1.15 miles away.

Cpl Chris Reynolds, 25, camped on a roof for three days as he waited for perfect conditions to take the shot.

He calculated the range, wind and trajectory before pulling the trigger - and the bullet flew 1,853 metres before hitting its target.

It is the furthest distance any fatal bullet has ever been fired in Afghanistan.

The warlord, known as Mula, was thought to be responsible for co-ordinating several attacks against British and US troops.

Cpl Reynolds, of 3 Scots, The Black Watch, has already claimed 32 rebel fighters.

His latest kill came last week during a firefight in the town of Babaji in Helmand Province. Yesterday he told how the Taliban chief slumped into the arms of a stunned colleague after being hit.

The father-of-one said: "We were in a bazaar for days in some very heavy fighting and had taken up a position on a shop roof.

"From the first few minutes after we landed, we came into contact with the enemy. We were taking fire all the time.

"We were observing down the valley and I saw a group of five Taliban. I identified one straight away as the commander because I watched him through the scope giving all the orders. I have to admit the first round landed next to him. I was so far away he didn't even realise he was being shot at.

"I changed aim and after taking into account all the different factors including trajectory my gun scope was actually aiming at the top of a doorway. I fired and the bullet went off, coming down and hitting him in the chest. He dropped straight away into the arms of a fighter behind him."

Cpl Reynolds, who has been in Afghanistan since March, added: "He had been given a lead sleeping tablet. I was quite proud of that shot - it is the longest recorded kill in Afghanistan." In the same battle, an Afghan sniper was taken out by a British Javelin missile.

The rifle Cpl Reynolds used was an Accuracy International L115A3 - a large calibre weapon only designed to be accurate over a range of up to 1,100 metres. It carries a five-round magazine is 1.3 metres long and weighs 6.8kg.

Cpl Reynolds' spotter was Lance Cpl David Hatton, 20, from Castlemilk, Glasgow.

He joked: "He did a brilliant job that day - but we are all getting a sick of him going on about it all the time and telling us what a great shot he is."

Cpl Reynolds, of Dalgety Bay, Fife, is on his first tour of Afghanistan but has previously served in Iraq.

His wife Becca Reynolds, 29, who lives in Trowbridge, Wilts, with their son Joshua, three yesterday hailed her hubby a hero. She said: "I was ecstatic when I found out what he had done. I thought it was fantastic, not only for him but for the whole of Black Watch.

"He said he keeps on going on about it and everyone over there is telling him to shut up."

A SOLDIER and another man, both in their 20s, were being questioned by police in Buckinghamshire yesterday after 12 handguns were stolen from Tidworth Barracks, Wilts, during a training exercise.

THE ACCURACY INTERNATIONAL L115A3

S&B 5-25X56 DAY SCOPE

Magnifies target up to 25 times allowing the sniper to identify targets more easily

ADJUSTABLE CHEEK PIECE

Allows the sniper to comfortably align his eye with the scope

6.8kg weight

1.3m long

Designed to be accurate to 1,100m

SUPRESSOR

Reduces flash and noise to reduce chance of detection

FOLDING STOCK

Reduces weapon length when carried in a back pack

5 ROUND MAGAZINE

Allows sniper to fire five rounds rapidly but small enough not to interfere with alignment