Improvised heavy sniper

Heavy snipers with .50 caliber weapons have an equally heavy advantage on the battlefield. They can reach far – up to two kilometers – and hit targets that still feel relatively safe. At the same time, they are also very useful as a kind of "antimaterial rifle" for use against vehicles. It's no wonder that there is a high demand for such systems on the battlefield in the Middle East. In the Syrian civil war, there have been ... especially on the side of the FSA – quite a few heavy sniper rifles cloned from the Iranians HS .50 M1 (original by Steyr). In new footage from the crisis area, the observer can see more and more homemade systems, like the one above with the huge muzzle brake.

This is the weapon behind the muzzle brake. At first glance, it almost looks like a Russian anti-tank rifle from World War II – the PTRD –, but it could be a homemade based on a DShK, a heavy Russian machine gun. The man behind the scope belongs to the Islamic State, the first two images are from a current propaganda video from Syria. But it gets even tougher: Also propaganda footage from the IS, an even bigger caliber. One is inclined to guess 23 mm. Note the small scope. The weapon is shown in pictures being used to target vehicles. The image is said to be from the area of Iraqi Fallujah, where the weapon could also be excellent for targeting helicopters, at least according to the caliphate.