soldiers practice sniper marksmanship at their firing range near Baghdad, Iraq in 2005.]] with a M24 sniper weapon system in 2004]] A sniper is an infantry soldier or other serviceman (e.g. police officer) who specializes in shooting from a concealed position over longer ranges than regular infantry, often with a specially designed or adapted sniper rifle. A sniper requires skill in marksmanship, camouflage, and field craft. Etymology The term sniper is attested from 1824 in the sense of "sharpshooter". The verb to snipe originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India-in the sense of: ?to shoot from a hidden place?, in allusion to snipe hunting, a game bird known for being extremely difficult to hunt. Those who were skilled at the hunting of this bird were thus dubbed "snipers". During the American Civil War, the common term used in the United States for much the same function was

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