British Sniper Kills Senior ISIS Member On Difficult Headshot During Nighttime Mission

A British soldier on Sunday night shot and killed a high-ranking ISIS member with a sniper rifle from almost a mile away, according to reports.

The shot reportedly struck the unidentified target in the skull during a mission the Syria border, a senior defense source told the Daily Star. The shooter, also unnamed, was said to be a sergeant with Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) "G-Squadron."

"The shot was one in a million. Getting a one-round, one-kill head shot at night using thermal imagery in a 15-second target window is about as close to impossible as you can get but he pulled it off," an unnamed senior defense source told the Daily Star. " He is definitely the best sniper around at the moment."

The sergeant, also believed to be a veteran operating between Iraq and Afghanistan, reportedly killed at least 100 people during his tenure. The SAS G-Squadron has been deployed on a counterterrorism mission in Syria and Iraq for several months since the beginning of this year.

"It's reported that the SAS Squadron in Iraq is operating as part of 'Task Force Black' - the British contingent of US-led Task Force 88, tasked with hunting down Al-Qaeda leaders in the country," the group's website reads.

The team learned that the alleged ISIS member was heading to a safe house in a village controlled by ISIS near the Syrian border, the source said.

"The SAS team had hoped that the ISIS commander would arrive during the day because a night shot was regarded as too dangerous," the source told the paper.

The gunman reportedly fired a .50 caliber shot from a US-made McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle at night as the alleged ISIS member exited a car, killing him.

"But as evening approached the team realized that they were going to have to either abort or go for a night shot," the source said. "The sniper said he wanted to take the shot and was given a "go order."

The SAS, founded in 1941 during World War II, is considered the British Army's most elite special forces unit. The team consists of four squadrons, "A," "B," "D" & "G," each specializing in attacks by air, land, and sea, according to the official website.