Ex-officer tells inquiry UK military committed war crimes in Afghanistan

1/12/2025 11:43

A former senior British officer has told a public inquiry that British special forces in Afghanistan appeared to commit war crimes by executing suspects and despite widespread knowledge in the chain of command nothing was done.



Britain's defence ministry (MoD) ordered the inquiry after a BBC TV documentary reported that soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had killed 54 people during the war in Afghanistan more than a decade ago in suspicious circumstances.



The investigation is examining a number of night-time raids by British forces from mid-2010 to mid-2013 when they were part of a U.S.-led coalition fighting the Taliban and other militants.



British military police have previously conducted several inquiries into allegations of misconduct by forces in Afghanistan, including those made against the SAS, but the MoD has said none had found enough evidence for prosecutions.



The inquiry's aim is to ascertain whether there was credible information of extra-judicial killings, whether investigations by the military police years later into concerns were properly conducted, and if unlawful killings were covered up.