Murdering Children, Elderly: UK Army Official Reveals “War Crimes” in Afghanistan

DID Press: A senior former British Army officer told a public inquiry into the conduct of U.K. special forces in Afghanistan that these units committed “war crimes,” and that despite awareness within the chain of command, “no action was taken.”

The inquiry was launched following a BBC investigative documentary reporting that 54 people were killed under suspicious circumstances by SAS. The investigation is examining British night-raid operations between 2010 and 2013, a period during which the units were part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Taliban.

According to Reuters, the inquiry—led by Judge Charles Haddon-Cave—has been tasked with determining whether credible information existed about extrajudicial killings, whether the Royal Military Police conducted proper investigations, and whether any cover-ups may have occurred.

In the latest testimony, a former senior officer identified by the code name N1466, who oversaw operations at Special Forces Headquarters in 2011, said he had become suspicious as the number of people reported killed increasingly exceeded the number of weapons allegedly recovered, alongside repeated claims of “post-capture resistance.” “To be blunt, we are talking about war crimes… about detainees being moved and executed under a façade,” he said.

According to him, he raised his concerns with the Director of Special Forces, but instead of a criminal review, only a “tactical reassessment” was ordered. N1466 added that he regrets not going directly to military police at the time, though he submitted a formal report in 2015.
“I had come to believe that the extrajudicial killings were not limited to a few individuals, but were likely more widespread and known to many within the special forces,” he said.

Other testimonies presented to the inquiry suggest rapid release of detainees by Afghan judicial authorities and intense rivalry between UKSF1 and UKSF3 units.

“We did not join the special forces to behave in this way… Killing children or innocent people is neither special, nor elite, nor what we stand for,” N1466 remarked.

The official inquiry ongoing.