The former head of Britain’s special forces and senior officers in the chain of command attempted to conceal warnings that SAS units were carrying out unlawful killings in Afghanistan, a public inquiry has heard.
A whistleblower, identified only as N1466, told the inquiry that senior commanders failed to stop alleged extrajudicial killings — including the shooting of two small children — after he first raised concerns in early 2011, The Guardian reported. That failure, he said, allowed the alleged incidents to continue until at least 2013.
The allegations form part of some of the most serious claims to emerge before the inquiry, led by Justice Haddon-Cave, which is examining accusations that members of three British SAS units summarily killed about 80 people during operations in Afghanistan. The inquiry was launched in 2023.
According to newly released, partially redacted transcripts of evidence given in closed sessions last year, N1466 said he first alerted the director of special forces and other senior officers to what he believed could be “war crimes” in February 2011. “We could have stopped it in February 2011,” he said. “Those people who died unnecessarily from that point onwards, there were two toddlers shot in their bed next to their parents … all that would not necessarily have come to pass if that had been stopped.”
His account appears to refer to injuries suffered by Imran and Bilal, the children of Hussain Uzbakzai and Ruqquia Haleem, who were allegedly shot while asleep during a 2012 night raid in the village of Shesh Aba in Nimruz province. Both parents were killed. In a video statement to the inquiry in 2023, the children’s uncle, Aziz, said: “Even to this day, they are grieving the incident that happened to us … We are asking for the court to listen to these children and bring justice.”
N1466 alleged that the then director of special forces and others attempted to suppress evidence of criminal conduct. “The director … made a conscious decision that he is going to suppress this, cover this up and do a little fake exercise to make it look like he’s done something,” he said.
He told the inquiry that the director ordered a review of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) to avoid external scrutiny, despite internal data suggesting deeper problems. “It was blatantly clear from the statistics and the patterns that there was something wrong here … I believe he knew it wasn’t … a problem with the TTP,” he said. “The root problem was the intent [to kill].”
After a period away from special forces, N1466 returned in 2014 and found evidence that the killings had continued. A summary of his testimony said: “It was apparent when he came back to UK special forces in 2014 that it had not stopped at all. In fact, it had carried on at least into 2013. He found that quite shocking.”
He later reported his concerns to military police in 2015, telling investigators he believed he was “part of an organisation which allowed rogue elements to act as they did outside the law”. Citing one raid, he said special forces “shot at a mosquito net until there was no movement”. When the net was lifted, it was women and children underneath, he said, adding that the incident was covered up and the soldier responsible was even given an award “to make it look legitimate”.
N1466 told the inquiry he regretted not alerting the serious investigations branch in 2011. “I had lost all faith that the chain of command would be minded to support a transparent and accountable investigation,” he said.
The inquiry is stull underway.
