British special forces troops would have executed detainees in Afghanistan, according to the BBC

The chain points out that high officials did not pass the suspicions to the Military Police to investigate

The Ministry of Defense criticizes the broadcast of the report and affirms that it "endangers" the reputation and prestige of the military

Members of the United Kingdom's Special Air Service (SAS) have executed detainees and unarmed people in "suspicious circumstances" in Afghanistan, according to an investigation published on Tuesday by the British television network BBC.

The investigation, which is based on military documents, indicates that a SAS unit, made up of members of the special forces, would have executed 54 people over a period of six months, without senior officials familiar with what happened presenting evidence for the opening of murder investigations.

Thus, it has indicated that Mark Carleton-Smith, former head of the United Kingdom Special Forces, was informed of these incidents but did not deliver the evidence to the Royal Military Police, even after this body opened an investigation against a SAS squad. .

Carleton-Smith, who later became Army chief before resigning in June, declined to comment, while the Defense Ministry stressed that British troops "served bravely and professionally in Afghanistan".

The aforementioned British chain has highlighted that it analyzed hundreds of pages of operational documents, including more than a dozen raids carried out by an SAS squad in Helmand province between 2010 and 2011.

Likewise, it has stated that several people who served in this squad have affirmed that they witnessed the murder of unarmed people at the hands of these operatives and the subsequent placement of weapons to justify these acts and present the victims as militiamen.

These people have pointed out in statements to the BBC that some SAS squads competed to see which one achieved more deaths, with the specific case of the investigated, who tried to overcome the previous one that he had replaced.

The investigation shows that there are internal emails indicating that members of the upper echelons were aware of the concerns about possible executions, although they did not notify these cases to the Military Police, something required by law.

The BBC itself and the newspaper 'Sunday Times' investigated in 2019 a raid by the SAS that led to a case in British courts and an order for the Ministry of Defense to publish documents on the way in which the authorities approached the case.

The new investigation includes reports that reveal a "similar pattern" in which people are reported dead after removing assault rifles or hand grenades from behind curtains and furniture after being detained, a fact presented by the special forces as a reason for death.

In this regard, he stressed that the total number of deaths during the six months of operations of this SAS squad exceeded one hundred, with no reports of injuries among the ranks of the SAS.

A senior official who worked at the British Special Forces headquarters has pointed to "real concern" about these reports and has argued that "too many people were dying in night raids, without the explanations making sense".

"Once a person is detained, they should not end up dead. That this happens over and over again caused alarm at the headquarters. At that time it was clear that something was wrong," he said on condition of anonymity.

Emails seen by the BBC show several officers reacting with disbelief to the reports, even speaking of the squad's "latest massacre". As concerns mounted, a senior official warned in a secret memo about the possible existence of a "deliberate policy" of executions during operations.

Finally, a rare formal review of the squad's operations was carried out, although the officer sent to Afghanistan to interview the operatives accepted the members' version, although this led to a classified document on these cases.

The squad was redeployed to Afghanistan in 2012, without Carleton-Smith informing the Military Police of concerns or tactical review after it opened a 2013 murder investigation into one of the raids during the latter. deployment.

The Military Police launched Operation 'Northmoor' in 2014, an investigation that addressed 600 alleged violations committed by British forces in Afghanistan, including killings by the SAS squad, although several investigators have reported that they suffered obstruction by the Army.

The investigations were closed in 2019 and the Ministry of Defense argued that no evidence of criminal acts had been found, something questioned by members of the investigative team, as reported by the BBC.

BBC DEFENSE CRITICISM

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense has questioned, within the framework of the investigation, a report by the BBC network scheduled for this Tuesday on these possible war crimes perpetrated by British soldiers in Afghanistan on the grounds that it "endangers" the reputation of the "brave" personnel who were deployed there for years.

The episode of the BBC Panorama program in question is scheduled for this Tuesday, June 12, and it addresses the allegations that have been made against the British Army special forces team.

"No investigation found sufficient evidence to prosecute. Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect and puts our brave Armed Forces personnel at risk both on the ground and their reputation," the Ministry of Defense protested in a series of messages on Twitter. .

Thus, the Ministry of Defense considers that the episode will offer "unjustified conclusions" on accusations that "have already been thoroughly investigated", referring to a series of night raids carried out by the Special Air Service (SAS) in which they would have killed hundreds of people.

"A thorough and independent investigation was carried out into these allegations," insists the Ministry of Defense, which leaves the door open "to consider any new evidence."

"We will always investigate the complaints to the fullest, but our Police and independent prosecutors can only act on the evidence before them," Defense has settled in the string of messages posted on Twitter.