UK 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.
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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 …
According to a high-ranking ex-member of the Special Air Service, superiors did not investigate his suspicions of "out-of-court executions"
SAS suppressed evidence of war crimes, senior officer tells inquiry
The elite Special Air Service (SAS) ‘shot toddlers’ and covered up evidence of war crimes, a senior officer has told an inquiry. The investigation into allegations of extrajudicial killing in Afghanistan heard: It’s not loyalty to your organisation to stand by and to watch it go down the sewer. One SAS squadron may have murdered up to 54 people in a single tour in 2011. The Unredacted website has a useful briefing on cover-up culture within spec…
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