UK Special Forces Accused of Decade-Long Pattern of War Crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan

Veterans Break Silence on “Barbaric” Conduct

Former members of Britain’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) have accused their own colleagues of committing systematic war crimes over a decade ago, during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. In shocking revelations aired by the BBC’s Panorama, more than 30 ex-troops have come forward with detailed and disturbing accounts.

Multiple veterans describe a chilling pattern: executing unarmed detainees, killing people in their sleep, and planting weapons to stage scenes that would justify the killings.

“They handcuffed a young boy and shot him. He was clearly a child,” recalled one SAS veteran about an incident in Afghanistan.

Executions Described as ‘Routine’

Former operatives claimed that killing detainees became a normalized part of operations. According to one account, soldiers would “search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them,” then place a pistol by the body.

Another SAS member confessed that some missions involved killing every man found on site, regardless of whether they posed a threat. He added that the act of killing became “addictive” to some, describing a descent into a “mob mentality” among troops.

“They’d go in and shoot everyone sleeping there, on entry. It’s not justified,” said one former SAS soldier.

Cover-Ups and Institutional Complicity

Eyewitnesses also pointed to systemic efforts to conceal war crimes, including the use of “drop weapons” like Kalashnikovs and falsified incident reports. Soldiers were coached on how to write reports that avoided triggering military police investigations, with some receiving calls from legal advisors to “adjust” their narratives.

“It was built into the way we operated,” a veteran admitted.

Allegations also suggest that higher command was aware of the killings. One former soldier said, “There was implicit approval for what was happening. Everyone knew.”

Warnings Ignored by UK Leadership

According to former Afghan National Security Adviser Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, then-Prime Minister David Cameron was repeatedly warned by Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the alleged war crimes.

“He consistently, repeatedly mentioned this issue,” said Spanta.

General Douglas Lute, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, added that Karzai’s protests were so frequent and vocal that no senior Western official could have missed them.

Ministry of Defense Responds

In response to Panorama’s findings, the UK Ministry of Defense said it remains “fully committed” to supporting the public inquiry into the allegations and encouraged all witnesses to come forward.

The inquiry currently examines a limited three-year timeframe, but the eyewitness reports span a much broader period, raising concerns that a far wider and deeper pattern of war crimes may remain unaccounted for.

As new evidence continues to surface, the credibility and accountability of the UK’s most elite military units — and the leadership that oversaw them — face intense global scrutiny.

Photo: ©UK Ministry of Defence CROWN COPYRIGHT

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