A Navy Seal sniper has been named America's deadliest marksman after racking up 160 confirmed (255 unconfirmed) kills during the Iraq war.
Chris Kyle, 37, blew away the previous US record of 109 kills, set by an Army
rifleman during the Vietnam War.
In a new book, Mr Kyle recalls how his first kill from long range was a woman
approaching a group of US Marines with a grenade in her hand. When ordered,
he opened fire, killing the woman before she could attack his comrades.
Over four tours in Iraq, he built a ferocious reputation. To the insurgents
who hid from his deadly scope, he was known as 'Al-Shaitan Ramad', or the
Devil of Ramadi. They reportedly offered a $20,000 (£12,800) reward to
anyone who could kill or capture him. Fellow Navy Seals referred to him
simply as "The Legend".
Mr Kyle's most famous shot came outside the Shia district of Sadr City in
Baghdad in 2008. From over a mile away he spotted an insurgent pointing a
rocket launcher at an approaching Army convoy. He fired at a distance of
2,100 yards. "God blew that bullet and hit him," Mr Kyle told the
New York Post.