Ace British sniper on the trauma of killing foes: 'You're their god for that split second'

Sgt. Craig Harrison, a retired British army soldier, killed two Taliban fighters more than 1.5 miles away in 2009, making him one of the most accurate known snipers in the world. But his decades as a sniper have left a deep mental scar, and he has "flashbacks all the time" of "the people that I've killed," he told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire in an interview, his back turned to the camera. Harrison said he is on a lot of medication, has trouble sleeping, and is suffering from PTSD related to being shot in the helmet and being injured in an anti-tank mine explosion.

"Anyone who says they don't feel anything for the people they've killed are not telling the truth," he told Derbyshire. And that's doubly true for snipers, who see their victims up close. "You see them spit on the floor, you see them talking," he said. "You own their life, basically. You're their god for that split second, and then you take them out." Watch below. —Peter Weber

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