There are allegations of UK Special Forces having committed war crimes in Afghanistan, for which a public inquiry has shown that soldiers enjoyed a “golden pass” while committing alleged murders. The evidence, provided by seven UKSF witnesses, has been made public on Wednesday as part of an ongoing inquiry into UKSF activities in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.
The investigation, which started in March and is currently sitting at London’s Royal Courts of Justice to hear testimonies, has found basis to warrant inquiries on accusations of unlawful killings and cover-ups by UKSF. It is questioning the actions of the special forces during deliberate detention operations and how military police probed into accusations of unlawful killings.
One of the witnesses, identified as N2107, had seen operation reports of SAS for 2011 and had reservations that the stories related to the killed Afghan bodies might not be real. This witness explained that UKSF operated unscrutinized, with carte blanche to murder without any check. The third witness, N1799, said an SAS team had summarily executed male Afghan subjects whose bodies were left lying next to arms they had never possessed. The practice of placing weapons near dead bodies was reportedly called “Mr Wolf” about the film Pulp Fiction.
The witnesses also spoke about the mistreatment of Afghan partner units by UKSF soldiers, who were accused of running a “campaign of murder” against civilians. The inquiry follows legal challenges from the families of victims, including children, who were allegedly killed during UKSF night raids.
No charges were brought under previous investigations into these events, despite numerous inquiries. The public inquiry continues to hear further submissions on behalf of the families of 33 people allegedly murdered by UKSF.
