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Senior officer testifies to suppression of SAS war crime allegations
A former high-ranking UK Special Forces officer has accused two ex-directors of suppressing evidence related to alleged war crimes by the SAS in Afghanistan, according to closed-session testimony released Monday by the Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan.
The officer, identified only as N1466, described handing over what he called "explosive" evidence of potential criminal behavior to the then-director of special forces in 2011. He further alleged that the subsequent director, appointed in 2012, was aware of the issue but failed to take action.
Allegations of unlawful killings and cover-ups
The inquiry is examining claims that SAS units murdered detainees and unarmed civilians, including children, during operations. N1466, the highest-ranking former special forces officer to make such allegations, stated that UK Special Forces leadership was "very much suppressing" the evidence.
Neither of the two former directors reported the allegations to the Royal Military Police (RMP), despite legal obligations requiring commanders to notify authorities of potential serious crimes, N1466 confirmed. Reporting restrictions prevent the naming of the accused officers.
The inquiry follows a 2022 BBC Panorama investigation that revealed 54 detainees and unarmed men were killed under suspicious circumstances during a single six-month SAS deployment. The program also implicated General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the 2012 director of special forces, for failing to report possible war crimes.
Suspicious raids and whistleblower accounts
N1466 testified that his concerns began in February 2011 after reviewing SAS reports from Afghanistan. These documents showed unusually high fatality rates with disproportionately few recovered enemy weapons. One operation in particular-a night raid where nine Afghan men died but only three weapons were found-raised red flags.
A later BBC Panorama investigation at the raid site in 2022 found bullet holes clustered near the ground, suggesting victims may have been shot while lying down. Weapons experts disputed the SAS's account of a firefight, and families insisted the deceased were unarmed civilians.
N1466 also cited whistleblower reports of SAS troopers allegedly boasting about killing all "fighting-age" males during operations, regardless of threat level. Combined with operational data, he concluded there was a strong likelihood of "unlawful killings of innocent people, including children."
"I will be clear, we are talking about war crimes."
N1466, in testimony to the inquiry
Internal review and failure to act
In April 2011, N1466 commissioned an internal review of recent SAS operations, which he described as "startlingly bad" for the regiment. He presented the findings to the then-director, who he said "absolutely knew" about the alleged crimes and the duty to report them.
Instead of involving the RMP, the director ordered an internal tactics review-conducted by an SAS officer who interviewed only regiment members. The resulting report accepted the accounts of those suspected of wrongdoing. N1466 called this a "warning shot" to reduce violence rather than a genuine investigation.
"[The director] made a conscious decision that he is going to suppress this, cover it up and do a little fake exercise to make it look like he's done something."
N1466
Legal obligations and delayed reporting
Bruce Houlder KC, former director of service prosecutions, told the BBC that commanders are legally required to report suspected crimes, including murder. "If this came to my knowledge, I would have asked the service police to investigate the [director] for that failure to report in 2011," he said.
N1466 admitted he did not immediately report the evidence to the RMP, waiting until January 2015-nearly four years later-after the RMP launched Operation Northmoor, an SAS investigation. He expressed regret, stating that earlier action might have prevented further deaths, including a 2012 raid in Nimruz province where two toddlers were shot in their beds alongside their parents.
"When you look back on it... there were two toddlers shot in their bed next to their parents... all that would not necessarily have come to pass."
N1466
Responses from accused directors
The director who took office in 2012 denied the allegations, telling the BBC that no senior commanders raised concerns during his tenure. He pledged to address the claims in his upcoming inquiry testimony. The 2011 director did not respond to requests for comment.
The inquiry continues amid calls for accountability over allegations that span multiple SAS deployments and involve senior leadership failures to uphold military justice protocols.
