UK Special Forces Accused of Afghan War Crimes in Inquiry

Facts

• An independent inquiry into the actions of UK Special Forces (UKSF) — including elite units from the Special Air Service, known as the SAS — on Wednesday shed further light on the war crimes allegations facing troops for their conduct while deployed in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.^[1][2][3]
• The inquiry was launched in 2022 after an investigation by BBC Panorama alleged that special forces carried out a number of extrajudicial killings and covered them up by falsifying reports and planting weapons next to the deceased. Emails showed that superiors were aware of the allegations, but failed to report them.^[4][5]
• Since then, portions of the hearings were held in public, but the majority of sessions were held at an undisclosed location without the presence of the public or media, namely to protect the anonymity of former soldiers who spoke of a "code of silence" within UKSF and expressed fears for their safety.^[6]
• In redacted witness statements and gists of their testimonies released by the inquiry on Wednesday, one former soldier, identified only as N1799, claimed that during operations "all fighting age males" were killed "regardless of the threat they posed," including those not holding weapons.^[7]
• Further testimony alleged that UKSF seemed "beyond reproach" by superiors and had a "golden pass allowing them to get away with murder." It was also alleged that children were among those killed.^[3][7]
• The testimony also revealed language allegedly used by UKSF, with killings described as "flat-packing" while the act of planting weapons was referred to as a "Mr Wolf" — in reference to the Quentin Tarantino film "Pulp Fiction" in which a Mr Wolf makes crimes disappear.^[7][8]

Sources: ^[1]Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan (a), ^[2]Army, ^[3]BBC News (a), ^[4]BBC News (b), ^[5]Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan (b), ^[6]Joshua Rozenberg, ^[7]Sky News and ^[8]The Guardian.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by BBC News. The testimony shared by the inquiry appears to support the allegations that UK Special Forces committed heinous crimes and then covered them up with the help of their superiors. It's hoped that this process will ultimately help get justice for the families of the victims, as well as leading to changes in how these forces operate.
• Narrative B, as provided by Sky News. While statements shared by the inquiry appear to highlight questionable behavior, none of the witnesses were themselves witnesses to the crimes, but rather heard of the allegations from other soldiers they served with. This makes it hear-say and is therefore unlikely to result in any meaningful action being taken.