A former senior British special forces officer has told a public inquiry that top UK military leaders concealed evidence of potential war crimes committed by elite troops during operations in Afghanistan more than a decade ago, according to Al Jazeera News. The whistleblower’s testimony, released Monday, alleges that two former directors of Britain’s special forces ignored reports that soldiers had unlawfully killed civilians, allowing the misconduct to continue unchecked.
The officer, identified only as N1466 for security reasons, said he alerted senior commanders as early as 2011 after noticing a disturbing pattern in mission reports emerging from Afghanistan. In one operation, nine Afghan men were killed—yet troops recovered only three weapons. He also received accounts of soldiers boasting during training about killing all “fighting-age males,” regardless of threat.
According to N1466, he delivered what he called “explosive” evidence of criminal behavior to the director of special forces. Instead of notifying military police, the director ordered a superficial internal review that he described as “a little fake exercise” intended to appear proactive while burying the allegations. When a new director took over in 2012, the whistleblower said the pattern of unlawful killings persisted.
That same year, two young parents were shot dead in their bed during a night raid in Nimruz province. Their infant sons, sleeping beside them, were also shot and seriously injured. The incident, like many others, was never reported to investigators.
N1466 eventually brought his concerns to military police in 2015, expressing regret that delays may have cost lives. “Those people who died unnecessarily… all that would not necessarily have come to pass,” he said.
The inquiry is examining whether British forces unlawfully killed around 80 Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013. It follows a 2023 BBC investigation that reported one SAS squadron had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances in just six months.
Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer urged a fair and comprehensive process, warning against selective disclosure. Despite earlier probes, no charges have been filed. The inquiry remains ongoing.
