Evidence has emerged from a public inquiry that senior leaders within the UK's Special Forces were involved in suppressing information related to potential war crimes committed by the SAS in Afghanistan. This revelation came from closed testimony by a former high-ranking officer, designated as N1466 for the proceedings.
N1466 disclosed that in 2011 and 2012, two consecutive directors of special forces ignored what was described as 'explosive' evidence of 'criminal behaviour' by the SAS. Despite submitting this evidence to these directors, no action was reportedly taken, violating the legal requirement to inform the Royal Military Police (RMP) if a serious criminal offence may have been committed.
The inquiry aims to investigate allegations of unlawful killings by the SAS, notably after a BBC Panorama investigation in 2022 reported suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of 54 detainees and unarmed individuals during a six-month period.
According to N1466, suspicions arose in February 2011 after reports indicated an unusually high number of killings in SAS operations, with insufficient enemy weaponry found to justify the deaths. This included a night raid where nine Afghan men were killed, but only three weapons were reportedly recovered. BBC Panorama's subsequent investigation at the scene revealed evidence suggesting these men might have been shot while lying down, contradicting the official SAS report.
N1466 further testified about hearing whistleblower accounts of SAS troopers bragging about targeting all 'fighting-age' males. Troubling evidence accumulated, leading N1466 to commission an internal review that portrayed the SAS operations negatively. These findings are significant in understanding the depth of potential war crimes and the systemic failures to report and address them.