US military probes sniper threat in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military has begun looking more closely at shooting attacks on troops in Iraq to establish whether they are carried out by snipers, according to a spokesman.

The change reflects concern over an insurgent video-CD that appears to show a series of shooting attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad by a purported sniper brigade from the Sunni militant Islamic Army.

The video, which Reuters has seen, was handed out in Sunni parts of western Baghdad last week as a "gift" to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. It shows 28 separate attacks, several of them involving precision shots to the head.

Narrated by a man described as the brigade "commander" and subtitled in English, it claims the marksmen use a training manual written by a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer.

"Ultimate Sniper," written in 1993 by Major John L. Plaster, is freely available through online bookstores. It was updated this year "for today's Global War on Terror," according to www.ultimatesniper.com, which calls it the bible of sniping.

Spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said the U.S. military was aware of the video.

He said the military was taking unspecified steps to reduce the possible new threat and had begun to examine killings by small arms fire in greater detail. "We are being more specific in trying to hone in on sniper tactics," Garver said.

U.S. casualty reports list three killings by sniper fire in Baghdad this year, all since July, and 24 by small arms fire, 10 of them in October.

Read the rest at the Washington Post