Sergeant Brian Stinson said final modifications were being made to Blackhawk UH-60 helicopters before snipers from the elite Tiger Force could begin patrols along the crucial oil supply lines. "There is so much area to cover that it requires precision fire, we're on call for 24-hours a day and can be airborne within 30 minutes," he said. Protection of Iraq's northern pipelines, which stretch 500 kilometers (300 miles) to Turkey and almost to Syria, are a major headache for the American troops who have devised a series of initiatives to combat sabotage. This includes the creation of local protection units made-up of the fledgling Iraqi police forces. Local tribes have also been hired to protect supplies with mixed success. Armed with 50 calibre M107s, 308 bolt actions and 308 semi-automatics the Tiger Force deployment also marks the return of airborne snipers in the regular US Army for the first time since the Indochinese wars of the 1960s and 70s. The 308 bolt is for "personal targets" that limit collateral damage among civilians with a medium range of almost one kilometer (more than half a mile). Stinson said the 50 calibre is for longer range work, capable of killing a person from 2.5 kilometers, and the concussion alone from a round that passes within a close enough distance can kill. The Tiger Force first won fame in the Vietnam War where it was established by Colonel David Hackworth, the highest decorated US soldier in that conflict. "It's the same system we used in Vietnam and we've brought it out of retirement," Stinson said. Helicopter pilots from the 101st Airborne Division have trained specifically for ferrying snipers along the pipelines. Pilots fly at night without light and must keep the Blackhawk in the air and position the helicopter behind, between valleys and hills, which muffles the sound of the rotors while remaining mostly out of view. However, at the same time the sniper's sights remain on the target allowing for "precision fire. We can hit a target before it knows we're there," said Stinson, a sniper with the 101st Airborne. Iraq's main pipeline runs from oil-rich Kirkuk north to the Dohuk province and then on westward to the Turkish Mediterranean terminal of Ceyhan. It was attacked four times last month, each strike pushing back prospects of boosting deliveries and cash receipts from the international market. Currently Iraq is producing 2.0 million barrels of oil per day and should reach its pre-war capacity of 3 million bpd the end of 2004, with 2.5 million bpd earmarked for export and between 500,000 and 600,000 bpd designated for domestic consumption. But such goals hinge on the allocation of 2.5 billion dollars in funds for renovating and repairing the industry's infrastructure. Stinson said the hit-and-run tactics that have characterised the conflict in Iraq for both sides had restricted the snipers' kill rate to 80 percent of targets but he declined to give exact kill numbers. "Everybody is moving so fast, four or five guys pop-up in an alley, aim, shoot and move," he said. "We do keep a count of the numbers but we kind of like to keep those figures to ourselves." He said civilians had an extremely negative view of snipers "and we get a lot of flak because of it" but he added the objective was always to save the lives of their peers by taking out targets before they can attack. "It's a difficult kind of job. The best snipers are deer hunting kind of folk who can work alone or in teams of two. It requires a lot of patience and perseverance, you can't be trigger happy," he said. PIN/AFP