Hello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security
Murder Holes and Snipers
Ambushes in Afghanistan happen both in the countryside and within the 'green hell.' A senior NATO official compared these tactics to those used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. In cities, Taliban disguise themselves in many outfits, including women’s clothing. "This kind of strategy is very, very difficult not only for NATO in Afghanistan but also in other parts of the world." The city Taliban have created their own hell for Coalition and Afghan security forces within urban areas. They cleverly hide sniper fire inside buildings, often with remarkable precision. In towns and cities, Taliban gunmen bored holes in the homes of sympathizers or hostages that provide a sniper with a direct shot up to 400 meters. The Taliban use camouflage and keep the holes small enough to go unnoticed from a distance.
The Taliban’s marksmanship has grown sharper. Although U.S. trainers have had difficulty improving the overall accuracy of ANA marksmen, the Taliban have developed outstanding sharpshooters. The Taliban’s use of camouflage, stealth, high-powered optics, and coordinated attacks has made them tough marksmen.
One Taliban sniper was particularly deadly. In 2009, an intense battle began that resembled the famous sniper duel in Stalingrad, where elite snipers from the Red Army and Wehrmacht faced off in a deadly contest. A British officer was determined to find and eliminate the Taliban’s top shooter. By April 2010, the Taliban sniper had killed seven British troops over five months. The youngest victim was 19. “Their sniper is giving us real problems, and we’ve not yet figured out how to take him out,” said a British officer. Three of the sniper’s victims were British sharpshooters. Coalition leaders believe Taliban snipers are being trained outside of Afghanistan. The snipers kill and wound civilians. One was a middle-aged, part-time postman in England, who previously served in elite British units like the SAS. An official combat artist deployed to Afghanistan, Graeme Lothian was photographing military operations when a Taliban sniper shot him in his left hand in late June 2013. “The tragic thing is that he was a fine artist—his painting is his life—and he is left-handed," said his physician girlfriend.
There is one case of a Taliban sniper killing two British soldiers with one bullet. These victims had the mission of finding and killing Taliban snipers, but it was they who became prey. Taliban snipers are effective in cities where they can hide more easily. Sometimes, Taliban snipers reveal their positions, which proves to be a lethal mistake. A British lieutenant explained that the Taliban place wet leaves around their murder hole so dust does not emerge. But sometimes it doesn’t work. “One of these guys (Taliban) used a murder hole to shoot one of my guys, so we used a guided missile to take him out.
But Coalition snipers are often the match of their Taliban counterparts. Like the best Taliban snipers, Coalition snipers frequently hit their targets at long distances and sometimes lie in wait for days to kill their prey. In 2009, British Corporal Christopher Reynolds killed his 33rd suspected Taliban. Firing from a tiny hole at a target over 2,000 yards away, “Crackshot Christopher” shot a man carrying an AK-47 who collapsed in the arms of the Taliban behind him. “Crackshot” guffawed as he delivered a “lead sleeping pill.” “I was quite proud of that – it is the longest record kill in Afghanistan. I am going to use that fact as a chat-up line in the pub when I get back home.” He did, and it scored him a girlfriend.
