SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees, BBC finds
The military reports obtained indicate that one unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in one round that lasted six months.
The BBC also reported that General Sir Mark Carleton Smith, the former head of the UK's special forces, was aware of the alleged "unlawful" killings, but did not hand the evidence to the Royal Military Police - even after the Royal Military Police launched an investigation. in the killings carried out by members of the Special Forces.
The BBC also found evidence that the former head of the Special Forces failed to pass evidence to a murder investigation. While the reports received said that more than 12 "kill or capture" raids were carried out in Helmand, Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011.
Personnel who served in Special Forces units stated that they witnessed the SAS killing unarmed people during the night raids.
The reports revealed a "pattern of strikingly similar reports of Afghan men being shot dead because they pulled AK-47s or grenades from behind curtains or other furniture after their arrest."
The report also said that AK-47s were deliberately placed at the scenes of accidents in order to justify the killing of unarmed people. He added, "Many people who served in the Special Forces were competing with each other over which of them had the most killings."
It is noteworthy that such incidents occurred in earlier times, according to the report, and the data indicate that they raise suspicion among officials that what happened in Afghanistan has turned into what he called “a suspicious and suspicious killing pattern”, especially since previous incidents that are very similar have been documented. It was revealed by the British Authority in its report.
The information in the reports shows that officers at the highest levels of the Special Forces were aware of the implementation of "potential unlawful killings", but were unable to report this to the military police, despite the fact that the law requires them to report such crimes.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Defense did not comment on what was published by the BBC, while a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said that the British forces "served with courage and professionalism" in Afghanistan to the highest standards.
