Afghanistan war crimes claims review dismissed, UK inquiry hears

A judge-led inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by British special forces in Afghanistan has heard that an initial internal review of the allegations was dismissed within a single day, according to newly declassified documents.

The documents, released on Friday as part of the ongoing public inquiry, suggest senior British special forces officers failed to properly investigate repeated reports that members of the Special Air Service (SAS) had unlawfully killed unarmed Afghans during operations in the country.

The inquiry is examining allegations surrounding the deaths of 80 people during SAS counter-terrorism raids in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. It was established in 2023 following years of legal challenges and media investigations that uncovered claims of unlawful killings, the planting of weapons on civilians and the destruction of potentially incriminating evidence.

Among the latest evidence is testimony from a former senior officer, identified only by the cipher N2252, who served as chief of staff to the director of British special forces in 2010 and 2011.

According to the released documents, N2252 raised concerns after receiving reports that the number of people killed during some SAS operations exceeded the number of weapons recovered at the scenes.

The inquiry has previously heard that following a February 2011 raid in Afghanistan in which eight people, including a 15-year-old boy named Mohammad Taher, were killed, the officer alerted a senior military legal adviser to what he described as yet another case of “more bodies than weapons.”

In another operation, known as Objective Tyburn, internal correspondence reportedly noted that four individuals had been classified as enemy fighters killed in action while only two weapons were recovered.

The newly released material also suggests that senior special forces officers were reluctant to refer the growing allegations to military police investigators, with concerns repeatedly dismissed as unverified rumours despite mounting reports from within the military.

The inquiry was launched after a senior British special forces officer came forward with allegations that members of an SAS unit had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The whistleblower reportedly told investigators that a “cancer had infected” part of the regiment and alleged that prisoners had been unlawfully killed during operations.

The inquiry, led by Lord Justice Charles Haddon-Cave, continues to examine evidence in both public and closed sessions. While many documents have been released, large portions remain redacted due to national security concerns and the protection of the identities of special forces personnel and witnesses.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has denied wrongdoing by the military as an institution but has faced criticism over attempts to limit the release of evidence presented to the inquiry.

The investigation remains ongoing, with further hearings expected in the coming months.