IRAQI RESISTANCE

Sunday Times: Iraq's Sharpshooting Rebel Legend

With elbows bandaged and knees padded for comfort, Abu Othman lay face down on a Ramadi rooftop and cradled his Russian-made sniper rifle as he waited for the tall American soldier to appear.

The soldier's habit of urinating into the street from the top of his Bradley armoured vehicle had angered Sunni Muslim inhabitants of the tree-lined suburb he patrolled. It was not the urinating as such that offended them; it was the way he exposed himself regardless of whether any women were around.

Ramadi's insurgents twice tried to take out the Bradley, first with a rocket-propelled grenade and then with a Russian C5K missile. They missed both times - and that was when they sent for Abu Othman.

It was a long, hot wait that summer's day on the rooftop and Abu Othman, 30, was glad of his headphones. He played his favourite verses from the Koran and their soothing flow cleared his mind, infusing him with a determination to see through the assignmnt, come what may. He prayed for God to deliver his target.

"Then the call came on my mobile phone, informing me that the soldier and his vehicle were finally heading my way," he said.

"The moment arrived. The Bradley stopped and the soldier stood on it ready to relieve himself. He was relaxed. He put his hand on his trousers. I took aim and fired one shot and saw him drop dead."