An inquiry reveals soldiers’ fears of unlawful killings by UK special forces in Afghanistan, raising serious ethical concerns.
London: So, there’s this inquiry going on about the SAS and their actions in Afghanistan. Some soldiers are really worried about what they’ve seen or heard. They’re saying that Afghans who weren’t a threat were being killed during raids aimed at suspected Taliban fighters.
One soldier even mentioned in an email back in 2011 that it felt like the SAS had a “golden pass” to do whatever they wanted, almost like they could get away with murder. That’s pretty intense, right?
Another soldier talked about this rumor where special forces would leave weapons next to people they shot, making it look like those folks were armed. They called it “dropped weapons,” and it’s a bit chilling to think about.
They even had a nickname for it, “Mr Wolf,” which is a nod to that character from Pulp Fiction who cleans up messes. It’s a strange reference, but it shows how serious these claims are.
This inquiry is digging into a lot of documents and testimonies about possible war crimes by British special forces from 2010 to 2013. The Ministry of Defence ordered this investigation after some BBC reports raised eyebrows about the SAS killing 54 people under suspicious circumstances.
They’re looking closely at night raids that happened during that time. Recently, they shared some secret testimonies from seven special forces members who can’t be named for security reasons. None of them said they actually saw any of this behavior, though.
One soldier, known as N1799, shared that back in 2011, they were worried about a unit called UKSF1. They heard that during operations, all “fighting age males” were being killed, even if they weren’t armed. That’s a pretty serious accusation.
They even mentioned a case where someone was shot after being restrained, which is just heartbreaking. It’s hard to wrap your head around how this could happen.
Another officer, N2107, expressed disbelief at reports suggesting that detained suspects were allowed back into their compounds only to pick up weapons and attack. It’s like a bad movie plot, but this is real life.
There’s also talk about how some officers felt reporting these allegations could be seen as “mud-slinging” between units. It’s a tough situation, and it seems like there’s a lot of pressure to keep things quiet.
British military police have looked into these allegations before, but the MoD said they didn’t find enough evidence to prosecute anyone. This inquiry is trying to figure out if there’s any truth to these claims of unlawful killings and if the investigations were handled properly.
