There is not really much you can ad to this. Most of us are Riflemen. We know what is involved in pulling off a feat such as this.
Not to take away from this incredible feat I would venture to also give credit to some luck.
I just don't have the energy to put out all those wind flags to 2.2 miles
The sniper did a great job. He had superb training as part of a team consisting of a spotter, gunsmith, kill verifier, etc. He was not a benchrest shooter! He is a human computer who analyses several variables and then pulls the trigger. Let's not belittle him by introducing LUCK as a factor.
The bullet has to go somewhere and that rag head had bad luck that day.
Not to take away from this incredible feat I would venture to also give credit to some luck.
I just don't have the energy to put out all those wind flags to 2.2 miles, not to mention my eyesight these days?
Supper shot though.
Why do you think the often quoted statistic for snipers is 1 kill per 1.7 shots? Again, this takes nothing away from the shooter, but it does stress just how difficult connecting with such a shot is.At two miles out the bullet is falling to the earth on an almost verticle line, miscalculate distance by 20 yards or so and the bullet drops in front of or behind the intended target. A lot can happen in the ten second flight time, the target can simply walk away and get a cold beer.
Chances are the shooter missed his first shot, the spotter saw the strike 15 feet away. The ISIL combatant was unaware that he was under fire. The shooter adjusted his aim point and Bingo, one bad guy down.