The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that British special forces are at the center of an inquiry into allegations of unlawful activity in Afghanistan. Defence Minister Ben Wallace commissioned the independent probe in December 2022, which will also examine accusations of inadequate investigations by the Royal Military Police (RMP) regarding unlawful killings involving special forces.
Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, chairman of the inquiry, announced that he recently visited the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The investigation will scrutinize two RMP investigations known as Operation Northmoor and Operation Cestro.
The confirmation of the inquiry by Wallace on Wednesday was described as being made in “exceptional circumstances.” In a statement, he emphasized the Ministry of Defence’s commitment to maintaining a balance between openness and transparency while considering national security considerations.
The inquiry, which is now entering the stage of substantive hearings, specifically relates to the conduct of UK special forces. The news of the investigation was welcomed by the relatives of eight Afghans, including three young boys, who alleged they were killed by British forces between 2011 and 2012.
Law firm Leigh Day, representing the victims’ families, indicated that as many as 80 Afghans may have been killed by the UK’s most elite troops from 2010 to 2013. One individual named Saifullah, represented by Leigh Day, accused British forces of killing four members of his family in February 2011. Another survivor from the Noorzai family claimed that his relatives and a friend were killed in October 2012 while peacefully drinking tea.
The allegations put forth by Leigh Day also include a claim that a SAS soldier is suspected of killing 35 Afghan civilians during a single six-month tour of duty. This assertion has raised concerns of an unofficial policy aimed at eliminating males of fighting age during home raids, regardless of whether they posed a threat, according to the London-based charity Action on Armed Violence.
Operation Northmoor, a 10-million-pound ($140m) probe initiated in 2014 to investigate allegations of executions by special forces, did not result in any charges being brought.
A two-day hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, which commenced on Wednesday, will feature arguments from the Ministry of Defence and RMP seeking restriction orders to be placed over certain evidence submitted to the inquiry.
