America loves a hero sniper.
Consider Chris Kyle, the veteran Navy SEAL who became
the stuff of legend well before publishing his 2012 autobiography
“American Sniper,” with more than 160 kills confirmed by the Pentagon
during his four tours in Iraq.Or Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, the Delta Force snipers posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their bravery during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, actions immortalized in “Black Hawk Down.”
Or Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock II, who established a Scout Sniper School at Quantico, Virginia, after returning home from the Vietnam War. Alone with his rifle, the sniper is the embodiment of the one-man army.
Now, Iraq has its own expert marksman to celebrate: Yousef Ali, a 20-year-old Iraqi federal policeman who, with the help of a Russian-made Dragunov sniper rifle, is helping Iraqi security forces and the U.S.-led coalition take back the city of Mosul inch by inch, block by block.
Tweet Embed: https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/854315589543841793Yousef Ali is living his dream: He's a sniper who targets ISIS fighters who hide behind human shields. https://t.co/Q2ljsneIXo pic.twitter.com/QPLa6HuitA Since Western-backed forces began their advance on Mosul in earnest in February, six months after the initial military offensive by Iraqi forces, ISIS has put up fierce resistance with their own barrage of mortar shells and sniper fire — constant threats lurking behind burned-out houses and mountains of rubble.
USA Today’s Igor Kossov embedded with Ali to get a first-hand look at the task facing the warfighters of the multinational coalition:
Through the small hole in the wall of an abandoned hotel, Ali saw the labyrinth of the Old City’s narrow streets stretch before him.
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