“They handcuffed a young boy and shot him” – Ex-special forces break years of silence

Former members of the UK Special Forces are giving thir eyewitness accounts on alleged war crimes done by their colleagues – and the stories are harrowing.

Alleged war crimes

A judge-led public inquiry in the UK is currently investigating a three-year period of the UK Special Forces alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. But new allegations made from former special forces-members now reveal alleged war crimes stretching over more than a decade.

Killing of detainees “became routine”

In an interview with BBC Panorama, a former SAS-veteran reveals that he has witnessed his former colleagues killing unarmed people in their sleep and executing detainees in handcuffs – including children. Killing detainess “became routine”, the veteran said. “They handfucced a young boy and shot him,” the veteran remembers.

Psychopathic traits

Another veteran, who served with the SBS, the Royal Navy’s special forces, explains to BBC, that there was a “mob mentality” among some troops, and that they felt untouchable. He also describes how some of the members switched from quiet beings into show serious psychopathic traits.

New video confirms competitive kill counting

For years BBC Panorama has repored on the alleged extrajudicial killings, possibly being war crimes, and the new testimony adds fuel to the fire. Especially new video evidence obtained by the BBC showing a SAS squadron keeping count of their kills to compete with each other.

Several special forces under scrutiny

During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, several reports of possible war crimes done by special forces of different nationalities emerged. According to Global Times, an inquiry released in November 2020 found “credible evidence” that Australian Special Forces had unlawfully killed 39 civilians.

Fingers as trophies

In 2010, it was reported that a dozen American soldiers formed a secret “kill team” while stationed in Kandahar in South Afghanistan, killing Afghan civilians at random to collect their fingers as trophies.

The 10 disappeared bodies

After finding the body of a student under a bridge in February of 2013, local demonstrations in the Wardak province of Afghanistan prompted the American Special Forces in the area to leave. After that, a number of bodies were found buried outside the American base in the region, and the bodies were said to belong to 10 missing men, allegedly killed by the hands of American Special Forces.