'How to become a sniper'
2005-05-18 07:49
Washington - Websites operated by Iraqi insurgents have posted instructions showing potential recruits how to become snipers and urging them to target United States military officers and pilots in order to inflict higher damage, ABC News said on Tuesday.
ABC said the Pentagon is in the process of informing its military commanders in Iraq about the websites.
"Websites maintained by Iraqi insurgents and their supporters contain chilling instructions that tell recruits how to become snipers and how to inflict the maximum damage," the network reported.
"Information from pro-insurgency websites, translated by Pentagon analysts ... instructs would-be snipers to target US and coalition military commanders, officers and pilots," the report said.
A military document being disseminated to US personnel in Iraq warns that officers and pilots were being cited for targeting on the websites because of the higher financial costs involved in training them compared to lower ranking troops.
ABC said one website even features an interactive training exercise titled "Who Would You Shoot?"
"If you had only one shot," the site asks, "who should you kill?" Users can choose from several options, and then they are told the "correct" answer.
- AFP