New evidence suggests some of the UK's most elite troops had a policy of killing unarmed men.
The government maintains that the four members of Saifullah's family were killed in self defence.
These"night raids" were a common tactic at the time. They were typically carried out in partnership with Afghan forces under cover of darkness. Their purpose was to target senior members of the Taliban. Last year, Panorama exposed how the intelligence that identified the targets for these raids was often deficient.
The Afghan commander suggests that"two men were shot trying to run away, and that the other two men were"assassinated" on target after they had already been detained and searched". "Aside from alienating our Afghan allies, the narrative of murderous British forces played right into the hands of the insurgents," said Frank Ledwidge, a former military intelligence officer who served as a justice adviser in Helmand.
Both of Saifullah's brothers are reported to have run away when they spotted the unit arriving. One hid in a bush with a grenade and was shot and killed when the explosive was spotted, says the OPSUM. The reply includes a summary of the unlikely events in the official report and concludes by saying:"You couldn't MAKE IT UP!"
"The Service Police and the Service Prosecuting Authority of course remain open to considering allegations should new evidence, intelligence or information come to light."The suspicious pattern of similar incidents leading to the killing of Afghan men during Special Forces night raids caught the eye of several people back at UK Special Forces headquarters in England.
The Major also found at least five separate incidents where more people were killed than there were weapons recovered. That means either the weapons went missing or the people who were killed were not armed.The newly-released evidence appears to support revelations in last year's Panorama and Sunday Times investigation.
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