An inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice in London has been told that SAS soldiers killed a number of innocent young men during tours of duty in Afghanistan. The independent inquiry, chaired by Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, heard allegations that SAS soldiers carried out “massacres” of young men during night raids in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. The soldiers allegedly had a policy of executing men of “fighting age” during the Taliban insurgency. Counsel to the inquiry, Oliver Glasgow, stated that they abused the system by killing men who were not insurgents and posed no threat to them.
Glasgow revealed that in one raid, nine men were killed, all of whom were allegedly shot while in bed, most likely while asleep. He also mentioned that some Afghan units refused to work with UK special forces due to their behavior. The SAS, however, maintains that they were acting in self-defense.
The independent statutory inquiry was commissioned by Defense Secretary Ben Wallace following legal challenges from solicitors representing two Afghan families and investigations by the Sunday Times and the BBC’s Panorama program. The Saifullah and Noorzai families brought judicial review proceedings against the Ministry of Defence, alleging a failure to properly investigate the deaths.
Mr. Glasgow also highlighted an incident where the Royal Military Police (RMP) were unable to arrest the chief of staff for UK special forces in Afghanistan due to the locks being changed at his headquarters. He further revealed that data regarding alleged unlawful special forces killings in Afghanistan was deleted from a computer server, with the RMP being instructed to take no action. The deletion process was described as irreversible, which raised suspicions of a cover-up.
The inquiry was also presented with information about the ITS1 server, which contained data from Operation Northmoor, an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. The senior investigating officer at the RMP stated that the deletion of data was in direct disobeyance of their demands to preserve it. The gold commander at the UK special forces headquarters overruled the officer, leading to negotiations to recover the data being halted.
Lawyer Paul Greaney, representing the RMP, assured the inquiry that they would not shy away from any findings that indicated failings in their investigations. Brian Altman, representing the Ministry of Defence, emphasized their commitment to the inquiry and stated that they acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations.
The inquiry is expected to last for several weeks.