Senior Commander Accused of Suppressing War Crimes Evidence
A senior special forces whistleblower has told a public inquiry that the former director of UK special forces and other high-ranking officers attempted to cover up concerns that SAS units were conducting unlawful killings in Afghanistan. The alleged cover-up began after initial alarms were raised in early 2011 and purportedly allowed extrajudicial shootings to continue until 2013.
‘We Could Have Stopped It’: The Whistleblower’s Testimony
The whistleblower, identified only as N1466, stated he first reported concerns about potential war crimes to the director of special forces in February 2011. In newly released redacted transcripts, the officer expressed profound regret, stating, “We could have stopped it in February 2011. Those people who died unnecessarily from that point onwards, there were two toddlers shot in their bed next to their parents… all that would not necessarily have come to pass if that had been stopped.”
This testimony appears to refer to a 2012 night-time raid in the village of Shesh Aba in Nimruz province. During this operation, Hussain Uzbakzai and his wife, Ruqquia Haleem, were killed, and their children, Imran and Bilal, sustained serious gunshot wounds while asleep in their beds. In a 2023 video shown to the inquiry, the children's uncle, Aziz, pleaded for justice for his grieving nephews.
N1466 alleged that the then-director made a conscious decision to suppress the information, ordering a superficial review of tactics to avoid external scrutiny. “It was blatantly clear from the statistics and the patterns that there was something wrong here… I believe he knew it wasn’t… a problem with the TTP. The root problem was the intent [to kill],” he told the inquiry.
A Pattern of Alleged Atrocities and Systemic Failure
Upon returning to UK special forces in 2014, the whistleblower was shocked to find evidence that the killings had continued into 2013. He reported his concerns to the military police in 2015, stating he was part of an organisation that “allowed rogue elements to act as they did outside the law.”
His evidence details disturbing patterns, including:
- A sharp rise in the ratio of Afghans killed to weapons recovered during raids.
- Repeated instances of detainees being executed after being taken on raids.
- Suspicions that weapons were planted on victims.
- Photographic evidence suggesting victims were shot in the head at close range, including as they slept.
N1466 described one raid where special forces shot into a mosquito net until movement ceased, only to discover it contained women and children. He alleged the incident was covered up and the soldier involved was given an award to legitimise the action.
He also expressed his loss of faith in the chain of command, which prevented him from reporting the unlawful killings to the special investigations branch in 2011. He told the inquiry, “I was deeply troubled by what I strongly suspected was the unlawful killing of innocent people, including children.” He described the alleged actions as a stain on the reputation of the special forces.
The Ongoing Quest for Accountability
The independent inquiry into these grave allegations, led by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, was launched in 2023. It is investigating claims that as many as 80 people were summarily killed by members of three different British SAS units in Afghanistan.
In response to the allegations, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The government is fully committed to supporting the independent inquiry relating to Afghanistan as it continues its work… We also remain committed to providing the support that our special forces deserve, whilst maintaining the transparency and accountability that the British people rightly expect from their armed forces. It is appropriate that we await the outcome of the inquiry’s work before commenting further.”
