The patented "Corner Shot" provides unprecedented protection to the soldier by enabling the combatant to shoot down a street, through a window or a door frame with maximum accuracy while keeping out of the line of fire.

The system consists of a rod and a mobile end section which can be adjusted with any type of combat handgun and includes a camera allowing the soldier to scan the targeted area and aim while maintaining cover.

Russian soldiers during the bloody World War II siege of Stalingrad first had the idea of bending the barrels of their rifles to shoot around corners.

The Israeli-US developed "Corner Shot" is the latest improvement on a series of devices invented over the past two decades by the FBI and the French army which left at least the combatant's hand exposed.

"This system was put on the market three months ago and we have already sold it to 15 countries," said Amos Golan, a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served in Israeli anti-terror units and invented the "Corner Shot".

The device costs between three and five thousand dollars and has been sold to the US, Russian and several European armies, said Golan, also joint CEO of Corner Shot holdings.

During a media presentation which included a drill of an assault by an elite unit on a building where terrorists were holed in, Golan said the device was already being used on the ground but refused to say where.

The Israeli army -- which carries out daily house-to-house searches in its crackdown on Palestinian militants in the occupied territories -- is said to be considering the use of the "Corner Shot" device.

Its shooting range is accurate to 100 metres with a 9mm handgun and effective to 200 metres with a 5.7 mm.

WAR.WIRE