Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Netanyahu: If Lebanese Army takes steps to disarm Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including phased reduction of Israeli military presence in Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Photojournalist Houssam Al-Masri martyred, reporters Hatem Omar, Mohammad Ashraf Salameh injured in Israeli strike on Nasser Medical Complex.
Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace

British commandos committed war crimes in Afghanistan: BBC

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 12 Jul 2022 16:10
  • 4 Shares
5 Min Read

One SAS squadron may have massacred around 54 Afghan civilians during a six-month tour in Afghanistan.

  • x
  • SAS squadrons conducted night raids in Afghanistan, aiming to kill or capture targets.
    SAS squadrons conducted night raids in Afghanistan, aiming to kill or capture targets.

A new Panorama documentary revealed disturbing evidence of SAS war crimes in Afghanistan, BBC reported.

A clear pattern of unlawful killings of Afghans by a squadron of SAS commandos during night raids appears to have emerged, with as many as 54 victims over a six-month period.

The revelations, which could lead to war crimes charges, were vehemently denied by the UK Ministry of Defense, which claimed that allegations of unlawful conduct by commandos had previously been thoroughly investigated.

Read more: Tony Blair's knighthood sparks outrage in the UK

In a statement, the ministry said: “Neither investigation found sufficient evidence to prosecute. Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect, and puts our brave Armed Forces personnel at risk both in the field and reputationally.” 

Conversely, the BBC argued that Royal Military Police (RMP) investigators had been obstructed by military leadership. 

General Mark Carleton-Smith, then-head of the UK Special Forces, failed to share evidence of misconduct with the investigation, as per BBC.

"Executions were carried out at a close range"

The new documentary expands on an earlier BBC investigation into SAS night raids in Afghanistan.

An anonymous source provided the outlet with hundreds of contemporaneous military reports, not to mention operational accounts filed by the squadron after missions.

It is worth noting that the BBC was able to identify some of the raid locations and traveled to Afghanistan to speak with witnesses and collect forensic evidence, such as images of bullet holes in walls.

In many cases, what has been discovered during these trips contradicted what the SAS team had reported about killing enemy combatants in firefights or retaliating with lethal force when detainees pulled concealed weapons during a search.

According to experts, what the BBC discovered on the ground in three locations indicated that executions were carried out at the close range.

In November 2010, the squadron in question was deployed to Helmand province for a six-month tour. 

Read more: Celebrating 70 years of British massacres!

A pattern of suspicious killings

The documents examined revealed a pattern of suspicious killings justified by the discovery of weapons on the scene, according to the BBC.

Those weapons, which included AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, may have been planted by British troops as justification for killing people who posed no threat in the first place as per reports, the broadcaster suggested.

The report added that the squadron "was attempting to outnumber the one it had replaced”, stressing that the total number of people killed during the tour was in the triple digits.

The team's post-raid reports piqued the officers' interest at the time, who described them as "quite incredible" and referred to the missions as the squadron's "latest massacre."

According to the BBC, a high-ranking Special Forces officer in Afghanistan warned in a secret memo that there could be a "deliberate policy" of extrajudicial killings of fighting-age males.

An infrequent internal investigation was ordered, but the investigating Special Forces officer "appeared to take the SAS version of events at face value," according to the documentary. 

Efforts to disturb investigations 

The evidence was classified and was not shared with military police, who conducted a separate murder investigation linked to one of the raids in 2013.

It is worth noting that the RMP launched Operation Northmoor in 2014 to investigate over 600 alleged offenses committed by British forces in Afghanistan. 

Some of the SAS squadron's killings were on the list, BBC reported.

It went on to say that RMP investigators revealed to them that the British military had hampered their efforts to gather evidence.

During the 1839-1842 Anglo-Afghan war, the British empire was humiliated in Afghanistan, but following the Sept. 11 Al-Qaeda attacks, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair joined US President George W. Bush in invading Afghanistan under the guise of overthrowing the Taliban.

Read more: The Guardian: UK Forces Behind Deaths of ~300 Afghan Civilians

The United States and its various western allies, including the United Kingdom, are behind many war crimes in Afghanistan, which they committed as part of their 20-year-long occupation of the country. 

The United States even went out of its way to commit a war crime against Afghan civilians following its incredibly chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which saw hundreds upon hundreds flocking toward the airport, stampedes, and abandoned allies. There even was a scene that reminded the world of the American withdrawal from Vietnam's Saigon, during which they air-lifted their staff off of the embassy's roof.

Despite killing tens of thousands of civilians during their occupation, US soldiers opened fire on the crowd outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing several civilians, including women and children.

The United Kingdom helped Washington do its bidding in Afghanistan, and British troops are just as complicit in all the crimes and the chaotic withdrawal as their American counterparts.

  • Afghanistan
  • SAS Squadron
  • Afghan
  • UK troops
  • war crimes

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Displaced Palestinians walk through a makeshift camp along the beach in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)

Hamas, other factions accept Egypt-Qatar ceasefire proposal: Exclusive

  • Politics
  • 18 Aug 2025
Palestine will not be liberated by UN reports, but by pursuing a different strategic horizon: one that does not beg for recognition. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Economy of Genocide: Albanese's report accuses, but doesn't dismantle system

  • Opinion
  • 18 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS