UK military covered up war crimes in Afghanistan, whistleblower tells inquiry

British special forces in Afghanistan appeared to commit war crimes by executing suspects, a former senior British officer told a public inquiry.

Despite widespread knowledge in the chain of command, nothing was done, the whistleblower claimed. Britain's Defence Ministry ordered the inquiry after a BBC TV documentary reported that soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances during the war in Afghanistan more than a decade ago.

The investigation is examining night-time raids by British forces from mid-2010 to mid-2013, when troops were part of a US-led coalition fighting against the Taliban and other militant groups.

The whistleblower, who is known to the inquiry only as N1466, said the alleged murder of civilians by UK special forces in the country is “not special, it’s not elite, it’s not what we stand for”. During his evidence, which took place behind closed doors, the witness, who was assistant chief of staff for operations in the UK special forces headquarters, said “we didn’t join [the special forces] for this sort of behaviour … toddlers to get shot in their beds or random killing”.

He appeared to refer to the children of Hussain Uzbakzai and his wife Ruqquia Haleem. Imran and Bilal are alleged to have been shot in 2012 while asleep in their beds during a night-time operation in the village of Shesh Aba, in Afghanistan's southern Nimruz province.

N1466 told the inquiry that one UK special forces unit, known as UKSF1, used tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) to commit war crimes. “I will be clear, we are talking about war crimes … we are talking about taking detainees back on target and executing them with a pretence … that they conducted violence against the forces," he added.

A batch of documents released by the inquiry included a summary of an interview between N1466 and the Royal Military Police. During the October 2018 interview, he told of an incident where UKSF1 members went to clear a compound where people were in a room hiding under a mosquito net.

The document said: “They did not reveal themselves, so the UKSF1 shot at the net until there was no movement. When the net was uncovered it was women and children. The incident was covered up and the individual who did the shooting was allegedly given some form of award to make it look legitimate.”

At the conclusion of his evidence, N1466 said “our forebears will look back … with shame” at the way special forces members judged themselves.

Chair of the Afghanistan Inquiry Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London,