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Australian soldier drinks beer from dead Taliban fighter’s prosthetic leg
A photograph obtained by The Guardian shows a senior Australian special forces soldier drinking beer out of the prosthetic leg of a dead Taliban fighter at an unauthorised bar on a base in Uruzgan province, in Afghanistan, in 2009.
The picture of the beer swilling soldier comes amid a growing scandal following the release of a report recently that Australia’s special forces were allegedly responsible for the unlawful death of 39 Afghans.
A number of photographs obtained by the Guardian show the senior soldier drinking from the leg in an unofficial bar known as the Fat Lady’s Arms, which was set up inside Australia’s special forces base in Tarin Kowt, the capital of Uruzgan province, in 2009, The Guardian reported.
Another photo appears to show two soldiers performing a dance with the leg.
The photograph is the first to be published that confirms previous reports of the practice of using the leg as a drinking vessel, The Guardian reported.
According to the report, some soldiers have said the practice was widely tolerated by officers at high levels and even involved some of them – despite the limb potentially being a war trophy, which Australians soldiers were forbidden from taking from the battlefield.
The Guardian said the leg is believed to have belonged to a suspected Taliban fighter killed during a special forces raid on two compounds and a tunnel complex in Uruzgan in April 2009.
The news outlet stated that the leg was eventually mounted on a wooden plaque under the heading Das Boot, alongside an Iron Cross – a military decoration used in Nazi Germany. The leg travelled with the squadron at all times, one former trooper told the Guardian.
“Wherever the Fat Lady’s Arms was set up, then that’s where the leg was kept and used occasionally for drinking out of,” he said.
The soldier also said that senior commanders would occasionally visit the bar and would have seen the leg and potentially the practice of drinking from it.
The Guardian reported that rumours that pictures exist of high-ranking officers drinking from the leg have long been circulating in the Australian special forces community and Australian media have also reported about the leg’s existence.
The Guardian stated meanwhile that the war crimes report, released recently, did not mention whether any soldiers were under investigation for taking trophies but did mention the Fat Lady’s Arms as being an example of how ethical leadership was compromised.
The report said of the unauthorised bar that this involved “the toleration, acceptance and participation in a widespread disregard for behavioural norms: such as drinking on operations, the Fat Lady’s Arms, and lax standards of dress, personal hygiene and behaviour – and not only on operations – which would not have been tolerated elsewhere in Army”.
Former U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, says Washington is largely satisfied with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) efforts against terrorism, though progress in broader relations remains hindered by the issue of prisoners.
In an interview with NDTV, Khalilzad said the United States views the detention of at least two American citizens in Afghanistan as the primary obstacle to improving ties.
Khalilzad highlighted what he described as a “significant degree of satisfaction” in the U.S. assessment of the IEA’s counterterrorism commitments under the Doha Agreement. He said the IEA continue to fight Daesh, a group they have long considered an enemy. Many Daesh militants, he added, have been pushed out of Afghanistan and are now in Pakistan.
At the same time, Khalilzad said concerns remain regarding human rights and the political role of non-IEA Afghans.
The Ministry of National Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has rejected recent accusations made by Pakistani officials following a deadly attack at a mosque in Islamabad, calling them “irresponsible” and “baseless.”
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif wrote on X that preliminary findings suggest the suicide bomber had been on the move to and from Afghanistan.
According to the Afghan Defense Ministry, Pakistan’s defense minister “immediately and irresponsibly” blamed Afghanistan for the attack without conducting proper investigations. Afghan authorities noted that this pattern has been repeated in the past, particularly regarding incidents in Balochistan and other security events inside Pakistan.
The ministry stated that linking such attacks to Afghanistan “has no logic or foundation,” adding that these statements cannot hide Pakistan’s internal security failures or help solve the underlying problems.
“If they were truly able to identify the perpetrators immediately after the incident, then why were they unable to prevent it beforehand?” the statement asked.
The Afghan government emphasized its commitment to Islamic values, stating it does not consider harm against innocent civilians permissible under any circumstances and does not support those involved in illegal acts.
The statement urged Pakistani security officials to take responsibility for their internal security shortcomings, review their policies, and adopt a more constructive and cooperative approach toward both their own citizens and neighboring countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has strongly condemned Friday’s suicide bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, which left 31 people dead and 179 others wounded.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that the Islamic Emirate considers such attacks—which violate the sanctity of religious rites and mosques and target worshippers and civilians—to be contrary to Islamic and human values.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed sympathy with the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.
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