SAS confessions prove 20 years of war crimes: IEA

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Islamic Emirate says confessions from former members of the British special forces to war crimes are a confirmation of repeated crimes committed by foreign troops over the past two decades in Afghanistan.

Some former members of the British Special Forces admitted to committing war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying the elite units killed unarmed individuals “while sleeping at night” and even “executed” children who had not yet reached fighting age.

The BBC published on Monday a detailed report titled “Former British Special Forces Break Silence on War Crimes by Colleagues.”

Giving their accounts publicly for the first time, the veterans described witnessing members of the SAS murder unarmed people in their sleep and execute handcuffed detainees, including minors.

“They handcuffed a young boy and shot him,” recalled one veteran who served with the SAS in Afghanistan. “He was clearly a child — nowhere near fighting age.”

The veteran said the killing of detainees had “become routine”. “They would search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them,” he alleged, revealing they would then cut the plastic handcuffs and “plant a pistol” next to the body.

The new testimony includes allegations of war crimes spanning over a decade – far longer than the three years currently under investigation in a judge-led public inquiry in the United Kingdom.

Commenting on the report, Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the IEA, said in an audio message the confessions confirmed the crimes the occupation forces committed in Afghanistan in the past 20 years.

He added American, British and all NATO forces with a military presence in Afghanistan were involved in the massacre of civilians and in repeatedly committing war crimes.

The statements reinforced the credibility of the documents and evidence the Islamic Emirate and the Afghan people had publicised over and over again, Mujahid added. It was good to note they themselves were acknowledging their crimes, he concluded.

sa/mud