Did the Taliban Hire a Sniper in Sangin?

There seems to be a sniper running around Sangin, but is he local or a hired gun?

There have been claims that at least three snipers trained in Iran or Pakistan are thought to be at work across Afghanistan.

Earlier this year it emerged that the SAS had been sent out to track a Taliban sniper operating around Sangin.

A senior officer disclosed that a single gunman was thought to be responsible for the deaths of up to seven soldiers from 3rd Battalion, the Rifles, stationed in Sangin.

Sapper Foster, 20, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, was on duty in a lookout post at Patrol Base Sangin Fulod on August 13.

The post is protected by thickened glass with only small gaps through which those on guard can point their weapons.

US forces, working alongside British troops at the base, disclosed that it is thought the gunman timed a single shot for the moment he walked past the opening.

"He hit a moving target in a space this big," Captain Jim Nolan, a company commander serving with the US Seventh Marine Regiment told the Wall Street Journal, holding his hands about nine inches apart.

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By: Brant