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

By Michael Holden

LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – British special forces in Afghanistan committed war crimes by executing suspects and nothing was done despite widespread knowledge up the chain of command, a former senior British officer told a public inquiry.

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

The investigation is examining a series of night raids carried out by British forces from mid-2010 to mid-2013, when they were part of a US-led coalition fighting the Taliban and other militants.

CONCERNS FROM SOLDIERS

British military police have previously carried out several investigations into allegations of misconduct by forces in Afghanistan, including against the SAS, but the Ministry of Defense said none had found sufficient evidence to investigate.

The aim of the investigation is to determine whether there is reliable information about extrajudicial killings, whether investigations by the military police into concerns years later were conducted properly, and whether unlawful killings were covered up.

Its chairman, senior judge Charles Haddon-Cave, said it was important that anyone who broke the law was referred to the relevant authorities, removing the cloud of suspicion from those who had done nothing wrong.

Its inquiry had previously heard concerns from British soldiers based in Afghanistan about a sub-unit called UKSF1; one of them said they killed men of fighting age during operations regardless of the threat they posed.

In new evidence given privately but released on Monday, an officer known as N1466‍, then Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at UK Special Forces Headquarters, revealed how he became suspicious of the number of detainees killed during UKSF1 activities in 2011.

He said that, based on a review of official reports after the raids, the number of enemy killed in action (EKIA) exceeded the number of weapons recovered, and reports that detainees repeatedly tried to take weapons or use grenades after capture did not appear credible.

‘WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WAR CRIMES’

“I will make it clear that we are talking about war crimes… We are talking about taking detainees back to the target and executing them on an allegation, that they have committed violence against the forces,” N1466 told lead lawyer Oliver Glasgow.

He said that he discussed the issue with the Director of Special Forces, referred to as 1802, but instead of considering criminal action, he only ordered a review of operational tactics.

The former officer later said he regretted not contacting the military police himself at the time, although he reported his concerns in 2015.

“I was deeply disturbed by what I strongly suspected was an unlawful killing of innocent people, including children,” he said in his witness statement.

“I have come to the view that the issue of extrajudicial killings is not confined to a small number of soldiers in a single sub-unit of UKSF1, but is potentially more widespread and appears to be known to many in the UKSF.”

Other evidence given to the inquiry by former military officers and a defense ministry official said there was frustration among soldiers that those captured during intelligence-led operations were released days later because the Afghan judicial system was unable to cope.

It was also heard that there was a major rivalry between the two special forces units to which N1466 belonged, UKSFI and UKSF3.

“⁠I am also aware that some people will want to portray me as… me against foreign policy. [UKSF] as if I had some kind of ax to grind… I would like to point out that nothing, nothing, is further from the truth,” N1466 told the inquiry.

“… We didn’t join the UKSF because of this kind of behaviour, you know, the shooting or random killing of toddlers in their beds. It’s not a private thing, it’s not an elite thing, it’s not what we stand for and I don’t believe most of us would want to turn a blind eye or cover it up.”

The investigation continues.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)