British army staff questioned alleged Afghan extra-judicial killings, inquiry hears
- Soldiers allegedly executed men who posed no threat during raids against suspected Taliban insurgents, the inquiry in London heard
- UK ordered inquiry last year after BBC reported that soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances
British special forces staff raised serious concerns over the conduct of some soldiers in Afghanistan who allegedly executed men who posed no threat during raids against suspected Taliban insurgents, an inquiry into the claims heard on Monday.
The inquiry, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, is looking into those allegations as well as whether investigations by military police were properly conducted and if any unlawful killings were covered up.
It also comes after two families, who accuse the SAS of killing their relatives, began legal action to demand judicial reviews of their cases.
Oliver Glasgow, the lead lawyer for the inquiry, presented emails exchanged at the time between military personnel, where concerns were raised that the number of Afghans killed in several raids were higher than the number of weapons reported to have been found at a particular site.
One email showed an officer’s incredulity at the rising number of suspiciously similar reports of raids, where Afghan men had been shot and killed after they had emerged from behind a curtain holding a grenade.
“This is the eighth time this has happened ... You couldn’t MAKE IT UP,” the email read.
