Exposure: The Special Forces 'kill list' 'tracked using mobiles'
Watch Exposure: The Kill List on ITV at 10.40pm on Wednesday
Former Special Forces soldiers have for the first time spoken on TV about how they hunted down "insurgents" on a so-called "kill list" during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts by pinpointing their location from their mobile phones.
Soldiers who were involved in carrying out the raids reveal to ITV's Exposure how they used the alleged insurgents' mobile phone signal to trace them and carry out numerous raids a night to capture or kill them.
One soldier, who did not want to be identified, tells the programme the intelligence wasn't always correct - leading them to target the wrong people.
But another, who also asked to remain anonymous, says he believed lethal force was inevitable if the "enemy" refused to surrender.
The documentary looks at the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) - an operation set to up identify and eliminate terror cells, insurgents and former regime elements - helped by the SAS.
It examines how they targeted, captured and killed insurgents during the two conflicts and the consequences its legacy has left behind today.
John Nagl, former lieutenant colonel in the US Army, says teams used "real time information" to carry out up to "four hits" a night on perceived targets.
But experts like David Kilcullen believe the raids, while effective, have fuelled the opposition coalition forces and strengthened the Taliban in Afghanistan.
But Lt Gen Sir Graeme Lamb, Deputy Commanding General of Multi-National Forces in Iraq, tells the programme there was no other option in Iraq if reconciliation with insurgents was not possible.