US to Ship Sniper Rifles to Afghanistan

The US Army is shipping powerful new rifles (XM2010 rifles) to its snipers in Afghanistan.

As the violence against US-led soldiers in Afghanistan peaks, the US Army is shipping a new batch of rifles to the country in an effort to enable snipers to hit targets at long distances.

The XM2010 rifle can hit a target at a distance of approximately 1,200 meters, which is some 400 meters (a quarter mile) farther than the weapon currently used by the United States Army since 1988, USA Today reported on Saturday.

The decision comes as NATO recently admitted that militant attacks have significantly increased since the Afghan invasion nine years ago.

At least 682 US-led soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in 2010 so far, and this year appears to be the deadliest for NATO since the 2001 invasion.

According to US officials, the 2,500 snipers are expected to receive the new XM2010 weapons as early as 2011.

Some 150,000 NATO troops are currently fighting in war-torn Afghanistan with plans to stay in the country beyond 2014.