Portsmouth sniper rifle used in SAS miracle shot

The elite marksman fired one bullet that killed two men instantly before it ricocheted into a third during mission in a remote northern Iraqi village in November.

The sniper fired his single .338 Lapua Magnum bullet from a L115A sniper rifle from a range of 1,800m (1.1 miles) just as the terrorists prepared to rake a crowd of women and children with machine gun rounds.

The sniper rifle was produced by Accuracy International, which has its UK base in Portsmouth.

The company’s co-owner and director, Tom Irwin, was stunned by the shot.

He said: ‘The fact that (the shot) was from 1,800m is impressive enough. But this was an incredibly lucky shot.’

In 2009 British Army sniper Sergeant Craig Harrison recorded the longest kill ever made by using the L115A when he shot two Taliban fighters at 2,475m (1.5 miles) away.