SAS conducted campaign of murder against Afghan civilians while officials covered it up, probe told

The independent inquiry is set to examine whether UK special forces had a policy of executing males of "fighting age" who posed no threat in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013, Carl Dinnen has the latest.

UK special forces carried out a "campaign of murder" against Afghan civilians while senior military personnel sought to stymie an investigation into them, an inquiry has heard.

Lawyers acting on behalf of families affected by alleged unlawful killings said their quest for the truth had been hampered by the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) "culture of secrecy, self-protection, deference and defensiveness."

The independent inquiry is set to examine whether UK special forces had a policy of executing males of "fighting age" who posed no threat in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.

The probe will look at allegations that "numerous" killings were carried out, as well as the alleged cover-up of illegal activity and inadequate investigations by the Royal Military Police (RMP).

On Wednesday, Richard Hermer KC, speaking on behalf of the families represented by Leigh Day solicitors, said the MoD spent "many years" attempting to keep information from the public domain about alleged unlawful killings.

In his opening submissions at the Royal Courts of Justice, Mr Hermer said: “I will seek to highlight evidence capable of suggesting that members of the SAS were applying a practice of unlawfully killing Afghan civilians.

“In other words, so we are absolutely clear, evidence suggesting that they were conducting a campaign of murder – not only a crime in domestic law but a war crime amounting to a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions.

“What is more, I will seek to highlight evidence that this practice, or at the very least suspicion that this practice was taking place, was known to senior officers and senior personnel at the MoD, who not simply did nothing about it, itself unlawful, but in some circumstances actively sought to prevent adequate investigation.

Mr Hermer said much of his evidence relied on the military's own documents that the MoD had fought to keep out of the public domain.

While acknowledging war could be "brutal" he said the high numbers of deaths on SAS operations and the "disparity between bodies and weapons" were concerning.

Mr Hermer said Afghan families had been thwarted "by a culture of secrecy, self-protection, deference and defensiveness; by delays in investigation and by failures to pursue critical lines of inquiry; and by the apparent concealment and destruction of relevant evidence."

Two RMP investigations, codenamed Operation Northmoor and Operation Cestro, will be scrutinised by the inquiry.

No charges were brought under Operation Northmoor – a £10 million investigation which was set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces, including those of children.

Operation Cestro saw three soldiers referred to the Service Prosecuting Authority, but none of them were prosecuted.

The probe will now hear submissions on behalf of the families of 33 people, including eight children, who were allegedly killed by special forces.

The inquiry continues.

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