US EditionUK special forces unit had 'deliberate policy' to 'kill fighting-aged males' in Afghanistan, inquiry told
A senior UK Special Forces officer testified that commanders suppressed evidence of unlawful killings in Afghanistan and no prosecutions followed a £10 million investigation, the inquiry heard.
- On Monday, the Independent Inquiry released closed-hearing summaries with testimony from N1466, who said some UKSF1 members followed a policy targeting fighting-aged males regardless of threat.
- Tension over released detainees and unit rivalry meant N1466 told the director of UK Special Forces, cipher N1802, who initiated a tactics, techniques and procedures review instead of a criminal referral.
- Documents released by the inquiry allege weapons were planted and incriminating files deleted from deleted main computer server data, while N1466 said, `I will be clear we are talking about war crimes...`.
- Previous probes including Operation Northmoor and RMP inquiries referred soldiers to prosecutors but produced no prosecutions, leaving Afghan victims' families fearing justice is impossible.
- If proven, the allegations amount to war crimes and a stain on the armed forces’ reputation, while Afghan partner units withdrew support in protest, Lord Justice Charles Haddon‑Cave said.
46 Articles
46 Articles
SAS ‘tried to suppress Afghanistan war crimes evidence’, inquiry told
An inquiry has been told that senior military officers tried to cover up concerns that some special forces units were carrying out extra judicial killings in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Inquiry has released summaries of closed hearings in which a senior officer gave evidence about alleged murders in the war-torn nation between 2010 and 2013. The high-ranking whistleblower said commanders failed to stop killings that were carried out by special …
Special forces chief tried to cover up concerns about SAS conduct in Afghanistan, inquiry told
Whistleblower says chain of command failed to stop extrajudicial shootings, including of children, after alarm was raised. The former director of UK special forces and other senior military officers tried to cover up concerns that SAS units were carrying out unlawful killings in Afghanistan, an inquiry has heard. A senior special forces whistleblower said the chain of command failed to stop extrajudicial shootings, including of two small childre…
According to a high-ranking ex-member of the Special Air Service, superiors did not investigate his suspicions of "out-of-court executions"
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