Soldier ‘called Taliban-loving apologist’ after questioning special forces about Afghanistan raid, inquiry hears

A soldier who questioned UK special forces after three farmers were killed in an overnight raid in Afghanistan was heard to be called a “Taliban-loving defender”.

As part of the Army Reserve, Christopher Green served in Afghanistan between January and September 2012.

The Afghanistan Inquiry was told that he was a “direct witness” to complaints made to his unit by local elders about the killings in the village of Rahim.

At the inquest, Mr Green was first informed that the three brothers were Taliban commanders who were “targeted in a deliberate detention operation that went wrong when these men uncovered weapons hidden in their pajamas and were legally shot in self-defence”.

He said his unit’s intelligence team was “pretty clear that there was nothing to suggest the sons were anything other than farmers, and nothing to suggest they were even Taliban commanders,” but acknowledged that special forces might have had access to other intelligence.

In evidence minutes of the inquiry released on Tuesday, Mr Green said concerns were raised at a relatively early stage that the “wrong people” had been shot dead by the International Security Assistance Force, made up of soldiers from the UK, US and other NATO countries.

Mr Green told the inquest that after first hearing about the incident he called the UK special forces (UKSF) liaison officer over concerns about the killing of the men, saying it was having an “unintended negative impact” on the army’s aims.

“In terms of the conversation we had, it wasn’t an easy conversation,” Mr. Green continued.

“There was a strong sense of resentment from him because I questioned what the SAS were up to.

“At one point he called me a ‘Taliban-loving defender’.”

The inquest heard that the brothers’ mother, Bebe Hazrata, was paid the equivalent of £3,634 in cash, described as a “benefit payment” by the UK Government, after her sons’ death.

“You know, in cases where Taliban leaders were lawfully killed during the war, there was no need to pay compensation to the families to please the local citizens, and that was not something Her Majesty’s Government were in the habit of doing.

“So it was a very unusual policy and I think it was an admission of guilt that we had killed the wrong people and that those people were not actually Taliban commanders,” Mr Green told the inquiry’s chairman, Lord Justice Haddon-Cave.

The tipster said that at first he believed the attackers “caught the wrong people” but over time he came to believe “you caught the wrong people and you were acting illegally.”

Mr. Green was assigned as a battle group information operations officer, and part of his job was to build relationships with locals and convince them that a better life lay ahead for the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

“This activity (shooting attacks) absolutely killed it for the village of Rahim,” he told the inquiry.

Mr Green said he wanted to see footage of the killings, called “gun tapes”, to help him understand the incident and “engage with local citizens to try to calm the situation”.

However, the investigation stated that he was denied access even though he had the necessary permission to view the video.

At the end of the closed hearing, Mr Green said he had been “very emotional” when giving evidence, adding: “You know, I tried to explain that we live in a world where people are dying every day and some of those people are our own battle group comrades, and in those situations, rightly or wrongly, you prioritize people you know and love over people you don’t know, and that’s the harsh reality of the situation.”

“I think I can only share with you my regret for not speaking up sooner.”

The Afghanistan Inquiry is examining allegations of unlawful killings by UK special forces during operations in the country between 2010 and 2013, as well as subsequent allegations of a cover-up.

Mr Green came forward following a request for information from the head of the inquiry.

The investigation is also looking at whether there was an alleged cover-up of illegal activity and inadequate investigation by the Royal Military Police.

No charges were brought as part of Operation Northmoor, a £10 million investigation launched in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by the SAS, including of children.

Another Royal Military Police investigation, codenamed Operation Cestro, resulted in three soldiers being referred to the Service Prosecution Authority, but none were prosecuted.

The investigation continues.