The short version
- The public inquiry has released graphic photographs showing deceased individuals with head wounds while lying in bed, contradicting claims of active combat.
- Military police investigators previously identified these images as vital evidence but failed to submit them for forensic testing before closing their probe.
- Expert analysis suggests bullet trajectories indicate victims were shot from above while stationary, supporting allegations of deliberate executions rather than firefights.
A public inquiry into British special forces operations in Afghanistan has released photographs described as essential evidence that may demonstrate war crimes. The images depict deceased individuals lying in bed with gunshot wounds to the head, challenging official narratives that troops engaged in active combat during night raids between 2010 and 2013. Oliver Glasgow KC, the inquiry’s lead barrister, stated that the visual record suggests soldiers could have executed unarmed people who were asleep. This development marks a significant escalation in the scrutiny of UK military conduct in Helmand province.
The photographs show multiple victims with blood pooling around their heads and spatter on walls at low levels, consistent with shots fired while the individuals were recumbent. One image features a person tucked under a floral blanket, while others rest with their heads on pillows. Glasgow noted that many appear to have sustained head shots and that further forensic analysis might confirm whether they were killed while sleeping. These details stand in stark contrast to the assertion by special forces that Taliban insurgents opened fire upon entry, forcing a return of lethal force.
Seventeen people were killed across two specific operations in 2011, including individuals as young as fourteen and fifteen years old. The inquiry is examining allegations that the SAS murdered unarmed civilians and detainees and subsequently planted weapons to fabricate evidence of resistance. Glasgow argued that the photographs would have raised serious questions for military police officers at the time, potentially undermining the special forces’ version of events. The visual evidence appears to contradict the claim that those inside were combatants engaging in a firefight.
Lt Col John Harvey, who led the military police murder probe, acknowledged during testimony that the images did not look right and agreed they constituted vital evidence. Despite repeated requests from investigators to submit the photographs for further testing, this step was never taken. An anonymous investigator told BBC News that bullet marks on walls low to the ground undermined the special forces’ account. The failure to analyze these images forensically has become a central point of contention in the current inquiry.
The public inquiry was established in 2022 following revelations by BBC Panorama, which had investigated allegations of executions for more than eight years. Panorama’s team traveled to Afghanistan to gather evidence related to four raids that killed twenty-six people, visiting the same guesthouses where the newly released photographs were taken. They were the first British investigators to reach these sites despite a five-year-long military police investigation. The inquiry’s release of these images appears to support the findings of Panorama’s 2022 investigation.
Weaponry experts consulted by the BBC indicated that evidence collected from the raid sites suggested multiple rounds were fired from above. This trajectory implies that those killed were either lying down or sitting against a wall rather than standing and engaging in combat. Family members also reported that victims had been shot cleanly in the head or chest, characteristics often associated with deliberate close-range shootings by special forces. These technical assessments challenge the notion of chaotic exchanges of fire.
Testimony before the inquiry also raised doubts about whether alleged war crimes were thoroughly investigated prior to the closure of the military police probe. Investigators were still gathering evidence in Afghanistan in July 2019, including searching for eyewitnesses to unlawful killings and weapon planting, even as senior officers prepared to close the case and inform ministers. One member of an Afghan partner unit testified that he personally witnessed a British soldier planting a rifle on an unarmed person after they had been killed.
The inquiry is now subjecting the photographs to expert forensic analysis to determine the precise circumstances of the deaths. The release of these images provides a tangible basis for examining the discrepancies between official military accounts and physical evidence from the scene. As the investigation continues, the focus remains on whether the failures in the initial probe obscured serious violations of international law. The outcome will likely influence broader discussions about accountability for special forces operations abroad.
Sources behind this briefing
Go to the original reporting
- BBC News↗New photos are 'essential evidence' of possible SAS war crimes, inquiry told
