BRITISH SAS UNITS BEHIND ‘SUMMARY KILLINGS’ OF 80 AFGHAN CIVILIANS, INVESTIGATION REVEALS

Mon 03 July 2023:

Lawyers representing bereaved relatives have revealed shocking revelations during a public investigation, saying that around 80 Afghans may have been killed in summary manner by three different British SAS teams between 2010 and 2013, according to a Guardian report.

It is alleged that one SAS soldier personally ended the lives of 35 Afghans during a single six-month tour, following an alleged directive to eliminate “all fighting-age males” in targeted homes, regardless of the perceived threat they posed.

According to the lawyers, numerous Afghans were fatally shot after being separated from their families by SAS soldiers. Even more concerning, in five incidents, the number of individuals killed exceeded the number of weapons recovered, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding these deaths.

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These fresh claims have come to light through a document submitted by the law firm Leigh Day to a new public inquiry investigating allegations of war crimes committed by SAS soldiers in Afghanistan. The submission references concerns expressed by senior army officers at the time, including reports of a casual disregard for life. Despite these internal warnings, an internal review conducted in 2011 failed to bring about any changes in the patterns of killing.

The lawyers have documented 25 suspicious deaths between June 2011 and May 2013, including an incident where four or five Afghans lost their lives, despite the discovery of only one grenade. The intensity of the operation was so extreme that two Afghan children required urgent medical evacuation.

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During the later stages of the UK’s military presence in Helmand province, elite British SAS soldiers frequently conducted nighttime raids on family compounds in search of Taliban fighters. Despite previous estimates suggesting 54 Afghan victims attributed to a single SAS unit, the lawyers argue that the alleged offences involve a larger number of British troops and span a longer timeframe than initially suspected. The claims point to a disturbing pattern of unlawful extrajudicial killings.

In 2014, the military police launched Operation Northmoor, investigating over 600 allegations of offences committed by British forces in Afghanistan, including allegations of civilian killings by the SAS. However, the operation was shut down in 2017 by government ministers and concluded in 2019, with the Ministry of Defence asserting no evidence of criminality. The lawyers argue that subsequent years saw a concerted cover-up involving senior officers, officials, and multiple inquiries. Troublingly, there are reports that special forces headquarters deleted data shortly before military police investigators arrived for an examination.

The public inquiry’s full hearings are set to begin in the autumn. The Ministry of Defence, on the other hand, has sought that some pieces of evidence, particularly those relating to the alleged involvement of the SAS in Afghanistan, be heard in private. The Guardian, BBC, The Times, and The Daily Mail are among the media outlets challenging this request, emphasizing the gravity of the charges and the importance of transparency.

The Ministry of Defence declared that the scope and conduct of the probe, led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, is up to the inquiry. The public investigation seeks to shed light on these serious claims while also providing justice and accountability to the victims and their families.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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