A round fired through an M4 travels approx 3600 meters. At the ranges quotes above it can be lethal but your shot has to pretty much hit a vital area of the body to actually kill them at those distances. Just actually being able to engage the target accurately is the tough part as those fighters are generally very skilled and know what they are doing so hitting them at distance with a sustained rate of placed shots from a M4 (or any variant that fires the standard M855 NATO round) becomes increasingly difficult.
To penetrate the human body, a bullet needs a joule rate of approximately 400j (to be considered a lethal shot-as in something that will penetrate to hit the CNS or major organ). The M855 round reaches this point at approximate 550-600 meters, depending on several other factors I won't cover (too long a read). In short, bullet penetration is better understood by analyzing and understanding the rounds terminal ballistics, which is the rounds striking velocity, bullet characteristics (made up of factors such as wind speed, muzzle velocity, gravity, drag, air density etc etc) and target material.
Given the terrain he was in, and the fact he had to shoot at what looks to be a 8 degree downward angle (or more), unless he was a VERY well trained shooter, he stood no chance in hell at hitting anything with accurate fire.
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