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A member of Canada's Joint Task Force 2 killed the insurgent with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle

A HERO sniper took out an ISIS fanatic with an incredible 11,300ft shot measuring two miles the longest confirmed kill ever recorded.

A member of Canadas Joint Task Force 2 killed the insurgent with a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle during an operation last month in Iraq, according to reports.

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Sources wouldnt reveal the names of the elite sniper and his partner or the exact location where the shooting took place for operational reasons.

A military source told the Globe and Mail:The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces.

Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far way, the bad guys didnt have a clue what was happening.

The source stressed the operation fell within the strictures of the Trudeau governments advise and assist mission, news.com.au reports.

The shot took just under 10 seconds to hit the target and was fired from a high-rise location during an operation within the past four weeks.

The kill was independently verified by video camera and other data, according to the Canadian press.

AP:Associated Press

Another military source added:Hard data on this. It isnt an opinion. It isnt an approximation. There is a second location with eyes on with all the right equipment to capture exactly what the shot was.

This is an incredible feat. It is a world record that might never be equalled.

The longest confirmed kill world record was previously held by British sniper Craig Harrison, who shot a Taliban soldier with a 338 Lapua Magnum rifle from 8,120ft - equal to 1.5 miles - away in 2009.

Previously Canadian Corporal Rob Furlong had set the world record in 2002 at 7,972ft when he gunned down an Afghan insurgent carrying an RPK machine gun during Operation Anaconda in 2002.

Weeks before that the record was held by Canadian Master Corporal Arron Perry who fatally shot an insurgent from7,578ft during the same operation.

Canada is not part of The Multi-National Force Iraq which consists of military from the US, UK, Australia, Spain and Poland.

The skill of the JTF2 sniper in taking down an insurgent at 11,300ft required math skills, great eyesight, precision of ammunition and firearms, and intense training.

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It is at the distance where you have to account not just for the ballistics of the round, which change over time and distance, you have to adjust for wind, and the wind would be swirling, said a source with expertise in training Canadian special forces.

You have to adjust for him firing from a higher location downward and as the round drops you have to account for that. And from that distance you actually have to account for the curvature of the Earth.

The operation is reported to have involved about 200 JTF2 elite special forces in northern Iraq, primarily tasked with counter-terrorism, sniper operations and hostage rescue.

The Trudeau government has expanded the military commitment in Iraq, committing 207 Canadian special forces trainers in an assist, train and advise mission. Canadian commandos are not meant to be involved in direct combat.

An army source said:Canada has a world-class sniper system. It is not just a sniper. They work in pairs. There is an observer.

This is a skill set that only a very few people have.

The longest confirmed sniper kill shot by a US solider was by Sergeant Bryan Kremer when he killed an Iraqi insurgent with his Barrett M82A1 rifle at 7,545ft in 2004.

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Hero sniper takes out ISIS fanatic in Iraq with incredible TWO MILE shot the longest confirmed kill ever recorded - The Sun

The Defence Minister has visited New Zealand troops at Camp Taji near Baghdad in Iraq.

Defence Minister Mark Mitchell speaks to the contingent. Photo: Supplied

Mark Mitchell met the Defence Force contingent who are training Iraqi Security Forces to fight against Islamic State militants.

Mr Mitchell said since the deployment began in 2015, New Zealand's troops had trained more than 23,000 Iraqi soliders.

"Good progress continues to be made in the final liberation of Mosul and the military defeat of ISIS, while not underestimating the longer term challenges the Iraqi government and Iraqi people face as they stabilise and rebuild territory regained from ISIS," Mr Mitchell said in a statement.

New Zealand has 106 trainers, force protection soldiers and regular soldiers at Camp Taji, where Iraq troops are trained in partnership with the Australian Defence Force.

Mr Mitchell, who became Defence Minister in April, was accompanied by National MP Todd Muller and Labour's David Parker.

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Defence Minister visits forces stationed in Iraq - Radio New Zealand

Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 16, 2014. Yuriko NakaoBloomberg/Getty Images

Updated: 9:27 AM ET | Originally published: 8:48 AM ET

Good morning. These are todays top stories:

Republican leaders in the Senate today are expected to publicly reveal their proposed health care bill , which is meant to replace the Affordable Care Act. Among other changes, the measure would cut Medicaid and no longer penalize people for not buying insurance, according to the Associated Press.

ISIS militants exploded Iraqs ancient and iconic al-Nuri mosque , which is also known as Mosul's Great Mosque and dates to the 12th century, according to the AP. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the ISIS groups latest destruction "is a formal declaration of their defeat."

The world's population is on track to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, according to a new United Nations report . There are currently about 7.6 billion people in the world. The forecast also says Indias population is projected to exceed Chinas in less than a decade.

Also:

At least 29 people were killed in a suicide car bombing outside a bank in Afghanistan .

The stabbing of a police officer at an airport in Flint , Mich., is being investigated as terrorism .

An Indiana waterpark has shut down after children suffered chemical burns from chlorine.

More than half of teens are having sex, and most use birth control, a new study has found.

Step aside, fidget spinner. The " toothpick crossbow" is now sweeping China.

The Morning Brief is published Mondays through Fridays. Email Morning Brief writer Melissa Chan at melissa.chan@time.com .

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Health Care Bill, ISIS Iraq, World Population: Top Stories | Time.com - TIME

Mohammed bin Salman's ascension as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia could lead to a more assertive Saudi oil policy within OPEC, as the kingdom puts its own needsfirst. Expect Iraq to follow Qatar as its next target.

The elevation of the king's son is no surprise. Having already handed him the reins to guide the country forward, it would have been odd indeed if the king didn'tensure his son could continue his policies.

Prince Mohammed, or MbS as he is known widely, has already pursued a robust regional strategy and will probablyintensify as his power grows. He's led a military campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and, more recently, has been central to the isolation of neighboring Qatar.

In oil, Saudi Arabia has already shownitself willing to pursue its own interests over those of its neighbors. Two oil fields shared with Kuwait, with a combined daily production capacity of some 500,000 barrels, have been shut since late 2014 and early 2015 and show no sign of being reopened, despite repeated statements from the Kuwaiti side that their restart is imminent.

Oil Under MbS

While Mohammed bin Salman has been responsible for oil policy, prices have struggled

Source: Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, says the shutdown of the offshore Khafji field was triggered by environmental concerns, but some in Kuwait see the prolonged closure as payback for the emirate's unwillingness to supply troops in Yemen.

Sanctions on Qatar result from claims that the emirate has been funding terrorist groups and is too close to Iran. Qatar denies these allegations and is still waiting for a list of specific Saudi demands. It sees the sanctions -- which include restrictions on tankers carrying Qatari oil and gas -- as an attempt to undermine its independent position on big regional issues, or even to bring about regime change.

Saudi regional policy under Prince Mohammed has been characterized by a far harder stance against Iran and its spreading influence. That's unlikely to change.

There's another big country falling under Tehran's sway: Iraq. Iran-backed militias, along with Kurdish counterparts, have been at the forefront of driving back Islamic insurgents in the country. Bilateral Iraqi-Iranian trade has increased every year since 2003, according to a report in the Tehran Times.

By chance, Iraq is also the OPEC member that's mostexceeding its agreed crude output target. That puts it in line for stronger criticism from Saudi Arabia as oil prices languish near levels not seen since the group adopted its output target back in November.

Iraq's Over-production

Iraq is lagging other OPEC members in meeting pledged output cuts

Sources: OPEC, Bloomberg

OPEC's overall compliance with the production limitsis better than for any similar deal in its history, but that's largely down to Saudi cutting much more deeply than agreed. That willingness to bear more of the burden probably won'tpersist, particularly if we eventually start to see a more balanced market and higher prices.

Even the tensions in the Middle East, which would usually send oil prices rocketing, have had little impact so far. A more aggressive Riyadh might well see traders starting to price the political risk again. Even more soif Iraq becomes the next Qatar.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story: Julian Lee in London at jlee1627@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Boxell at jboxell@bloomberg.net

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Iraq Might Be Saudi Arabia's Next Target - Bloomberg

Martyn Day: I understand why what they went through is upsetting, but Im a lawyer. My job is to represent my clients. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

The decision to prosecute human rights lawyers at the law firm Leigh Day was politically influenced, a senior partner has said in his first interview since being cleared of professional misconduct charges.

Martyn Day said he and his colleagues did not need to apologise for doing their jobs and making British soldiers accountable for their actions in Iraq. Speaking nearly two weeks after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal also found his fellow solicitors Sapna Malik and Anna Crowther as well as the London firm not guilty of all 20 misconduct allegations, Day said it was an outrage that the prime minister interfered in the case by making comments about an industry of vexatious claims before the trial.

The seven-week hearing at the tribunal, which ended the day after the general election, cost about 10m and followed a three-year investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The SRA alleged that legal claims advanced by Leigh Day and Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers suggesting that British soldiers tortured and murdered Iraqi detainees after the so-called Battle for Danny Boy near Basra in 2004 had been pursued unprofessionally.

The 31m al-Sweady inquiry in 2014 found the claims of murder and torture to be fictitious. It also revealed that the Iraqi claimants were not innocent civilians but members of a Shia militia, the Mahdi army.

The inquiry did, however, conclude that a number of prisoners had been abused and that British troops breached the Geneva convention. In February, Shiner was struck off for dishonesty and lack of integrity. At a separate, subsequent hearing Day and his colleagues were cleared.

In his rooftop office at Leigh Day, Day radiates an aura of uncoiled relief. Aged 60, he is anticipating the challenge of his next case, against a mining company in Sierra Leone, rather than the indignity of being professionally disqualified.

I have always felt that the SRA, whether directly or indirectly, was influenced by the political background to the case, Day said. It was clear that the government took a very strong interest in the prosecution both of Phil Shiner and us.

And the fact that [the Ministry of Defence] said it was disappointed by the [tribunal] outcome is an indicator. It was totally inappropriate. It was an outrage that the prime minister was putting the boot into us at the time that the regulator was investigating us. [Ministers] said we were bringing spurious claims but 90% of them were settled.

The idea that we apologise to people for doing doing our job, I think thats nonsense

The [government] agenda was clear: they hate human rights, they hate human rights lawyers and theres a big agenda for supporting the army ... They could restore crown immunity [for the armed forces] but I think even [senior officers] are warning that the army should not be above the law.

Part of the SRAs case against Leigh Day was that it should have handed over a list from the Office of the Martyr al-Sadr, a Shia militia group, to the al-Sweady inquiry earlier as it demonstrated the claimants were members of the Mahdi army. Day admitted they should have appreciated its significance sooner.

Normally we would have gone through a [case] file with a fine-tooth comb, he explained, but this [claim against the MoD] had been stayed at a very early stage [pending the outcome of the inquiry]. Even though I now understand how we missed it, I dont move away from the fact that we should have spotted it.

Asked whether he should also express regret to soldiers brought before the inquiry, Day replied: I dont think its appropriate to apologise. I understand why what they went through is upsetting, but Im a lawyer. My job is to represent my clients.

We put their case forward in the best way we can. Thats the way the legal process works. The idea that we apologise to people for doing doing our job, I think thats nonsense.

Leigh Day pioneered the development of class compensation actions, spearheading numerous high-profile cases. Its lawyers have always been careful in assessing clients, Day said. The firm invests millions of pounds [in claims]. Take the Mau Mau case, for example: we only took on clients who had been registered as Mau Mau members before the litigation started.

We had testimonials from QCs who had been against us ... who said one of the reasons we were successful [was that] we had gone the extra mile to make sure that our claims were genuine.

Day acknowledged that the al-Sweady claims turned out to be a very complicated mixture of truth, lies and exaggeration. What was confusing, he said, was Iraqi detainees saying they wanted to get at the truth yet lying in some areas.

The evidence was pretty overwhelming that they were Mahdi army combatants ... [yet] Im convinced they were strongly of the view that those deaths had occurred [in custody]. They put two and two together and made five.

To blindfold detainees, the crack of metal tent pegs banged on chairs by British interrogators might have sounded like gunshots. Asked whether the claimants should have been prosecuted for perjury, Day said they should be given a chance to tell their side of the story.

Other unorthodox events including the armys decision to remove bodies from the battlefield and an army officer throwing computers containing photographs of the bodies into the sea had reinforced initial suspicions, Day said.

The SRA prosecution, he said, would have a chilling effect on those seeking justice in future. Within the world of human rights law, theres been enormous concern, not just in this country but abroad.

I have had many messages saying how relieved people were that [the case against us] was not proved. They were very, very worried that the government could have such influence over the regulator. It will have an impact. We will be that much more wary as to quite what cases we take on. It may well be that there are cases that people wont [touch].

The tribunal will give the reasons for its judgment in August. At that stage, the SRA could decide to appeal to the high court. Both the SRA and the MoD have denied that improper pressure was brought to bear on the SRA to bring the prosecution.

Day said he hopes his ordeal is over. Even though I felt we were innocent, many an innocent man has gone down.

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No need to apologise to British soldiers over Iraq claims, says Martyn Day - The Guardian