Special forces chief tried to cover up concerns about SAS conduct in Afghanistan, inquiry told | Military

The former director of Britain’s special forces and other senior military officers tried to cover up concerns that SAS units were carrying out unlawful killings in Afghanistan, an inquiry heard.

A senior special forces whistleblower said the chain of command had failed to stop extrajudicial killings, including two young children, after the alarm was first raised in early 2011. This failure allegedly allowed them to continue until 2013.

These allegations of a cover-up are among the most serious allegations made in an ongoing investigation into allegations that 80 people were summarily killed by members of three different British SAS units operating in Afghanistan. The inquiry, led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, was launched in 2023.

The whistleblower, identified only by the password N1466, said he first reported concerns about possible “war crimes” to the chief of special forces and others in February 2011.

According to the newly released redacted evidence record, which was secretly handed over last year, the officer said: “We could have stopped this in February 2011. From that point on there were people needlessly dying, two young children shot in their beds next to their parents… if this had been stopped it would have been unlikely to have happened.”

The officer’s claim appears to refer to serious injuries sustained by Hussain Uzbakzai and his wife Ruqquia Haleem, children Imran and Bilal, who were allegedly shot while they slept in their beds during a night operation in Shesh Aba village of Nimruz province in 2012. Imran and Bilal’s parents were killed.

Speaking to the investigation in 2023 with a short video, the children’s uncle Aziz said: “Even today, they feel sorry for what happened to us… We ask the court to listen to these children and provide justice.”

N1466 alleged that the then director and others attempted to conceal information about the alleged crime. He told the inquest: “The director… made a conscious decision that he was going to suppress it, cover it up and do a little fake exercise to make it look like he had done something.”

He told the inquiry the director ordered a review of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) as a way of avoiding external scrutiny. He said: “It was clear from the statistics and the patterns that something was wrong here… I think he knew it wasn’t an issue with TTP.” He added: “The real problem was intent [to kill].”

After leaving the special forces for a while, N1466 returned in 2014 and found evidence that the killings were continuing. The summary of his statement was: “When he returned to the UK special forces in 2014 it was clear that this had never stopped. In fact it had continued until at least 2013. He found it quite shocking.”

When N1466 reported his concerns to the military police in 2015, he complained that he was “part of an organization that allows rogue elements to operate outside the law.”

Referring to a raid, he told military police that special forces shot at the mosquito net until there was no movement left. “When the net came out there were women and children. The incident was covered up and some kind of reward was given to the person who opened the fire to make it look legitimate.”

He also expressed regret that he had not reported his suspicions of unlawful killings to the serious investigations branch in 2011. “I had lost all faith that the chain of command would intend to support a transparent and accountable investigation,” he told the investigation.

N1466 said there were “quite a few people who want this suppressed.” He said he was “surprised” and “disappointed” that the special forces attorney did not recommend reporting the concerns to the special investigations branch.

In examining accounts of SAS raids, N1466 was alarmed to note a sharp increase in the ratio of deaths to weapons seized in SAS raids. In one raid, nine Afghans were killed and only three rifles were captured. There were also repeated examples of detainees being taken on raids and then shot dead.

He said: “We are talking about war crimes… Taking detainees back to the target and executing them for alleged violence against forces… The UKSF had a duty to care for them as detainees in accordance with the Geneva conventions. Repeated violations of the Geneva conventions were clearly unacceptable.”

N1466 also expressed suspicion that weapons were planted on the victims. He noted photographic evidence showing the victims were shot in the head at close range, including while they were sleeping.

He added: “I am deeply disturbed by the unlawful killing of innocent people, including children, and strongly suspect that the success of the entire campaign has been jeopardized by these killings, with the heavy investment that has led to loss of life for UK and Afghan forces.”

N1466 said the killings were a “stain” on the reputation of special forces and the sacrifice of others.

He told the inquiry: “We didn’t join the UKSF because of this type of behaviour – the shooting or random killing of toddlers in their beds. It’s not private, it’s not for the elite, it’s not what we stand for and I don’t believe most of us would want to either turn a blind eye to it or cover it up.”

A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “The Government is fully committed to supporting the independent investigation into Afghanistan as it continues its work, and we are hugely grateful to all former and current defense employees who have given evidence so far.

“We are also determined to provide the support our special forces deserve, whilst maintaining the transparency and accountability that the British people rightly expect from their armed forces. It would be appropriate to await the outcome of the investigative work before commenting further.”