BBC investigation: British commandos "coolly" killed civilians in Afghanistan

The crimes were committed by the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) during night raids in Afghanistan between November 2010 and May 2011. There is not enough evidence to prosecute, says the British MoD.

According to an investigation published today bbca Special Air Service (SAS) commando unit has killed at least 54 people under suspicious circumstances in Afghanistan, in a series of events hushed up by the British military establishment.

Unarmed Afghan men were killed “in cold blood” by the SAS during night raids between November 2010 and May 2011 and then had weapons placed on their bodies to justify the crimes, the BBC said after a four-year investigation.

Senior officers, including General Mark Carlton Smith, who at the time led British Special Forces, were aware of concerns about these SAS operations but did not inform the MoD, the BBC reported.

At the disposal of journalists were hundreds of operational reports from one of the SAS branches, which took part in more than ten raids in order to take the terrorist alive or dead. According to the testimonies of former servicemen, Kalashnikov assault rifles were placed on the killed civilians in order to pass them off as militants.

Under UK law governing the operation of the armed forces, the commander faces criminal penalties if he does not disclose information about possible war crimes, the BBC notes.

Carlton Smith, who stepped down last month after commanding the entire British army, declined to comment to the BBC. The British network’s investigation is based on court documents, leaked emails and the field work of its journalists in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense stressed that there is not enough evidence to initiate a criminal case. “There has been no new evidence, but police are investigating any allegations if new evidence comes to light,” he said in a BBC statement.

The investigation alleges that the squads competed among themselves to see who could kill the most. The officers, according to the BBC, were aware of this.

A BBC investigation identified 54 people who were shot dead under suspicious circumstances by an SAS unit between November 2010 and May 2011 in Helmand province.

“Too many people were killed during the night raids, and the explanations do not make sense. When someone is detained, they cannot be killed,” a military man told the BBC. “It was clear at that moment that something was wrong.”

In 2014, the Royal Military Police (RMP) launched an investigation into over 600 alleged crimes committed by the British in Afghanistan, including the SAS. Investigators told the BBC they were “interfered” by the military and the investigation ended in 2019.

PS I heard somewhere that Britain will be sanctioned by the UN for war crimes. As it was in relation to the United States for the massacres of civilians in Iraq. Oh, didn’t you hear? So it’s completely different…

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