British Special Forces Accused of Abusing Prisoners and Killing Civilians in Afghanistan

A British inquiry into the Afghanistan war has revealed disturbing allegations against British special forces soldiers, including prisoner abuse and the killing of civilians. The investigation focuses on incidents between 2010 and 2013 and examines claims of war crimes and subsequent cover-ups. Two key witnesses gave closed-door testimonies, with censored excerpts recently published.

Christopher Green, a British Army reservist from 2012, testified that three brothers from the village of Rahim were killed during a raid. Intelligence assessments concluded the brothers were merely farmers, not Taliban members as initially claimed. When Green raised concerns with a liaison officer, he was met with hostility and labeled a "soft Taliban sympathizer." His request to review footage of the shooting was denied despite proper clearance. The British government later paid the brothers' mother approximately £3,634 in cash as "aid," which Green interpreted as an implicit admission of wrongful killing.

Another witness, Monica Grenfell, a former journalist who worked alongside the special forces, described soldiers abusing prisoners by loading them onto forklifts and throwing them off "for fun." She characterized the environment as exceptionally harsh and lacking oversight, with soldiers using unusually extreme language.

The inquiry also scrutinizes whether unlawful actions were properly investigated or deliberately concealed. Operation Northmoor, launched in 2014 at a cost of about £10 million, examined allegations of unlawful executions, including of children, but resulted in no charges. A separate Royal Military Police probe, Operation Sestero, referred three soldiers to military prosecutors, but none were prosecuted.

The UK Ministry of Defence affirmed its full cooperation with the independent investigation and expressed gratitude to all security personnel who testified. It emphasized the government's commitment to transparency and accountability while supporting special forces, noting a full response to the findings will follow once the inquiry concludes.