Whistleblower Alleges Cover-Up of UK Special Forces War Crimes

Senior leaders of the United Kingdom’s special forces allegedly covered up potential war crimes in Afghanistan, according to testimony from a former high-ranking officer before a public inquiry.

The whistleblower, identified only as N1466 to protect his identity, claimed that two former directors of the UK special forces failed to act on credible reports of unlawful killings by SAS troops operating in Afghanistan more than a decade ago.

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Alleged Crimes and Command Inaction

The evidence presented suggests that commanders at the highest levels were aware of suspected executions of civilians as early as 2011 but deliberately suppressed the information instead of reporting it to military police.

N1466 described discovering an alarming pattern of behavior, including:

• Raids resulting in the deaths of multiple Afghan civilians, often with few weapons recovered.
• Soldiers boasting during training about targeting all fighting-age males, regardless of threat level.
• Night raids that resulted in the deaths of parents and severe injury to their infants, which were never reported to authorities.

The whistleblower handed over what he described as “explosive” evidence to the director of special forces. Rather than initiating a proper investigation, an internal review of tactics was conducted—a measure N1466 dismissed as a “fake exercise” intended to obscure the truth.

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Continued Patterns and Further Incidents

Even after a second director assumed command in 2012, the alleged pattern of lethal misconduct persisted. One incident involved two parents and their young children being shot during a night raid in Nimruz province, an atrocity that was not reported to military police.

N1466 eventually approached the military police himself in 2015, expressing deep regret for not acting sooner, stating:

“Those people who died unnecessarily…all that would not necessarily have come to pass if the allegations had been properly handled.”

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Scope of the Inquiry

The ongoing investigation is examining whether approximately 80 Afghan civilians were unlawfully killed by British forces between 2010 and 2013.

The inquiry was launched in 2023 after a BBC documentary revealed that one SAS squadron killed 54 people under suspicious circumstances over six months. Despite earlier military police investigations, no charges have been brought, raising questions about accountability within elite UK military units.

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Official Reactions

Johnny Mercer, the UK’s former veterans minister, emphasized the need for a fair and impartial process, warning against selectively releasing information that fits a predetermined narrative.

The inquiry continues, as public and international attention remains focused on UK military oversight, war crimes accountability, and the ethical conduct of special forces in conflict zones.