Many soldiers from the UK’s Special Air Service (SAS) refused to answer questions as part of an inquiry into known and documented war crimes committed in Afghanistan.

Civilian Massacres

The inquiry, launched in 2023, was established to investigate the cold-blooded murder of civilians by British forces in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013.

It is also examining allegations of a cover-up and whether the Royal Military Police properly investigated the incidents.

At Monday’s hearing, Lord Justice Charles Haddon-Cave said that written requests for information were sent to numerous SAS soldiers linked to the deliberate detention operations (DDOs) at the center of the allegations.

Get out of goal option

‘A high proportion have indicated their intention to rely on their privilege against self-incrimination and have refused to answer any questions asked by the inquiry,’ the judge said.

The inquiry has also faced difficulties obtaining documents from the Defence Ministry.

Troubling and regrettable

At a hearing in September, Haddon-Cave revealed that 97 million records from the period under investigation were omitted from earlier searches. The judge described the discovery as ‘troubling and regrettable.’

The ministry said it expected only around 1,200 additional documents to require disclosure and apologized for delays in responding to the inquiry’s questions.

In April, British media reported that SAS soldiers were resigning in significant numbers over fears of prosecution related to past operations.

‘Morale is shit’

‘Morale is s**t at the moment,’ The Telegraph quoted an unnamed insider as saying.

The inquiry has examined evidence involving up to 80 Afghan murders during SAS operations. A senior special forces whistleblower alleged that commanders failed to act on warnings about unlawful killings in 2011.

Infamous SAS

In 2022, a BBC Panorama investigation identified 54 people killed in suspicious circumstances by one SAS unit during a six-month deployment to Afghanistan’s Helmand province from November 2010 to May 2011.

Set up and Slain

Former SAS personnel revealed that unarmed Afghan men were slain during night raids and that weapons were planted at the scenes to make the shootings appear justified.

Senior special forces officers were aware of concerns over the killings but failed to report them to military police.

British forces were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 as part of the US-led invasion following the False Flag September 11 terrorist attacks.

The UK subsequently became one of the largest contributors to the NATO-led mission, with British troops heavily involved in fighting Taliban insurgents, particularly in the southern province of Helmand.

More than 450 British military personnel were killed during the nearly two-decade campaign.

The UK withdrew its remaining troops in 2021 as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan following the collapse of the Western-backed government.

Incognito war crimes

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British Special Forces linked to the extrajudicial killings of more than 80 people in Afghanistan must have their identities remain secret, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has argued, sources have told The Times newspaper.

The British Westminster regime opened an investigation last year to probe allegations by families of Afghan detainees of over 30 incidents involving the executions of at least 80 prisoners, between 2010 and 2013.

It has also confirmed for the first time that many of the claims are centered around a single rogue Special Air Service (SAS) unit, whose initial investigation triggered the inquiry.

Both outlets also detailed that the Ministry of Defence attempted to prevent the publication of the names of SAS and Special Boat Service (SBS) soldiers who were involved, and asked that evidence be given to the inquiry privately.

The Cop-Out

In opening remarks delivered on the first day of preliminary hearings into the allegations on Wednesday, inquiry chairman Lord Justice Haddon-Cave said that the public was entitled to hear ‘as much as possible’ but that this must be balanced against national security concerns.

This position was echoed by Brian Altman KC, legal counsel representing the MoD, who explained that identifying soldiers could be hazardous to the ongoing work of UK troops and could potentially place them in ‘serious risk.’

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