Kyle meets Taya Studebaker at a bar , and the two soon marry . He is sent to Iraq after the September 11 attacks . His first kills are a woman and boy who attacked U.S. Marines with a Russian made RKG-3 anti-tank grenade . Kyle is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname " Legend " for his many kills . Assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader , Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , Kyle interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the SEALs to " The Butcher " , al-Zarqawi 's second-in-command . The plan goes awry when The Butcher captures the father and his son , killing them while Kyle is pinned down by a sniper using a Romanian PSL sniper rifle . This sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria . Meanwhile , the insurgents issue a bounty on Kyle
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
American Sniper