Four foreign snipers hired by the Taliban, thought to be responsible for the deaths of ten British soldiers, have been hunted down and killed.

The mercenaries were found by British special forces in Helmand province in Afghanistan after a tip-off from locals. They were put under close surveillance until their identities were confirmed, then air strikes were called in.

The operation ended a killing spree that lasted weeks and could have led to the deaths of up to ten British soldiers.

Recruited from Pakistan, Egypt and Chechnya, the snipers could kill from up to 650 yards away and were considered a serious threat by British commanders.

Their victims included Sapper Darren Foster, 20, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, who was killed by a single shot from 600 yards, which went through a 9in gap in a look-out post near Sangin.

The snipers were thought to have been hired by the Taliban to specifically target the Nato forces’ most highly specialised soldiers, such as bomb disposal experts.
The first pair were caught in Sangin ten days ago and the second two were found on Thursday.

When their identities were confirmed and their exact locations ascertained, pilots of U.S. F-16 jets were sent precise coordinates to ensure their high-explosive bombs killed the enemy without hurting innocent civilians.

In both cases, elite SAS and SBS troops, working with crack US and Afghan Special Forces, were involved.

The use of foreign snipers has caused alarm among Nato commanders as it shows the Taliban are broadening their tactics away from roadside bombs and recruiting from outside Afghanistan.

American marines highlighted the sniper problem when they moved into Sangin to relieve British forces.

The town is an insurgent hotbed widely considered the most dangerous place in Afghanistan and it proved to be so - in just seven days one Taliban sniper killed three men and wounded another.

Major-General Gordon Messenger, an MoD spokesman for Afghanistan, said: ‘What the guys are seeing on the ground, not just in Sangin but also in Nad-e Ali, is an increased use of the tactic of single shots at range.

‘It would be vastly overplaying the professionalism and the effect of these people to call them snipers. But, of course, we’re adjusting our tactics to counter it.’

News of the successful operation came after another British soldiers was killed whilst on duty.

The soldier from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment ‘was killed during an exchange of fire with insurgents in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province,’ according to the Ministry of Defence.

The unnamed soldier was helping to provide security for a meeting between Nato commanders and Afghan elders when the Taliban opened fire. He died at the scene.

The death brings to 332 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001.