London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

SAS killings: How a scandal was uncovered

SAS killings: How a scandal was uncovered

Panorama has revealed disturbing evidence of war crimes by the SAS in Afghanistan - and of subsequent attempts to cover them up. Hannah O'Grady describes how a series of alleged murders of civilians was finally brought to light.

Getting to the bottom of this story involved four years of painstaking detective work.

Crucial to this was a cache of internal emails from within the headquarters of UK Special Forces (UKSF) - the military directorate that oversees the SAS. These contained a handful of details about previously classified deadly raids that senior UKSF officers had considered suspicious back in 2011. At the time, British troops were still fighting the Taliban alongside allies in Afghanistan.

We were able to see these emails because they were included in court documents from a judicial review into a night raid previously investigated by Panorama in 2019, which brought to light evidence that the UK military had failed to properly investigate a series of suspected civilian murders in Afghanistan.

We knew from sources within the Royal Military Police (RMP) that investigators believed that suspect killings were far more widespread than the three incidents featured in our initial programme.

But all we had to go on from the court documents were around a dozen dates of when the raids took place, and sometimes the number of people killed. We had no way of identifying where they had occurred from the documents alone.

RMP investigators had been prevented by armed forces headquarters from visiting the sites in question. Our RMP sources also told us a lack of co-operation from UKSF prevented them from interviewing senior Special Forces officers and that they suspected pressure had been exerted from on high when they were ordered not to view potentially crucial aerial footage of the operations.

The Ministry of Defence spokesman said that British forces "served with courage and professionalism in Afghanistan" and were always held to the "highest standards". The MoD said it could not comment on specific allegations, but that declining to comment should not be taken as acceptance of the allegations' factual accuracy.

Then we had a breakthrough. A source - who must remain anonymous - handed us hundreds of contemporaneous military reports.

They didn't disclose the precise location of the raids, but they did offer potentially vital clues about what had happened during each one. We trawled through hundreds of these operational accounts.

Then we spent months trying to work out where they had taken place. To do this, we scoured press cuttings looking for incidents that might match those in the court documents - our colleagues in BBC Monitoring had archived and translated local language news coverage from 2011.

Panorama was also given access to a leaked US military log. Combing through that, we looked for events that might match a British night raid.

We spoke to journalists who had covered the conflict, including incredibly brave local reporters, as well as soldiers and other British officials in Afghanistan.

Together, this gave Panorama enough to travel to Afghanistan and speak to witnesses, who would give their evidence for the first time.

View of southern Afghanistan from a military helicopter


The US military log had given us a map grid reference that led us to the village of Nad Ali, in Helmand province. There the Panorama team met Haji Habibullah - a charismatic, bear-like man in his 70s whose neighbours treated him like an elder.

But his demeanour changed when he described the killing of his two young sons aged 16 and 20. Remembering what happened to them, Habibullah broke down and wept.

In the early hours of 7 February 2011, Habibullah's sons, Samiullah and Nisar Ahmad, had been sleeping in a single-room guesthouse in the grounds of the family home. Alongside them were seven mourners who had come to the village for a funeral.

Then four helicopters carrying SAS personnel landed in the nearby fields - and soon, all nine people in the guesthouse were dead.

Haji Habibullah

Haji Habibullah's home in Nad Ali


According to the official SAS account of the incident, they had believed the property was linked to a Taliban leader. As the troops entered the compound, the SAS said, several insurgents opened fire - so the SAS then shot back, killing those in the guesthouse. The report adds that three AK-47 rifles were recovered in the raid.

But that wasn't how Habibullah remembered it. All those who died had been unarmed civilians, he said, unconnected to the Taliban.

He took the BBC team to the guesthouse. It had been bricked up - the memory of his sons' deaths had made it too painful to use again. "When I remember them it hurts me so much," Habibullah said.


Panorama examined the guesthouse, measuring and photographing marks on the walls. Fragments of what appeared to be bullets were still present, embedded in the wall.

All but one set of bullet holes were in clusters less than 75cm from the floor.

After returning from Afghanistan, Panorama showed the photographs and measurements to an expert in UKSF weaponry, who said multiple rounds appeared to have been fired from above - which suggested the men had been shot while they were lying down or sitting against the wall, and not in a firefight.

We also discovered that several years after the shootings, RMP investigators had viewed photographs of the scene, taken in the immediate aftermath, and drawn the same conclusion.

British special forces killed hundreds of people on night raids in Afghanistan, but were some of the shootings executions? BBC Panorama's Richard Bilton uncovers new evidence and tracks down eyewitnesses.

One military police officer told us they also thought the low height of the bullet marks in the wall significantly undermined the SAS's version of events. But because of the obstruction they faced from others within the military and the Ministry of Defence, the RMP had felt they stood little chance of prosecuting anyone for murder.

In its statement, the MoD said: "No new evidence has been presented, but the Service Police will consider any allegations should new evidence come to light."

Moreover, Habibullah described how all nine men had been shot cleanly to the head or chest - a common characteristic of a deliberate SAS shooting at close range.


The raid was also suspiciously similar to another SAS operation we had looked at in our 2019 investigation, in which everyone inside a guesthouse had been killed, including a 12 and 14 year old boy, with clusters of bullet holes left close to the floor.

And indeed, it appeared that guesthouses were specifically targeted - a source who served with the SAS in Afghanistan told us it became an unofficial "policy" to kill everyone they encountered inside one, whether they were armed or not.

It is notable that while nine people - suspected insurgents, according to the SAS - were killed in the Nad Ali raid, only three guns were recovered in the SAS's version of events.

Habibullah's insistence that those who died were not armed raised the possibility of the use of so-called "drop weapons" - planted to make it appear that defenceless people had been armed when they were killed.

We spoke to people who had served with the SAS squadron who confirmed they had witnessed AK-47s being planted in this way.

In the immediate aftermath of the Nad Ali incident, there were suspicions that something had gone terribly wrong. Back at Special Forces HQ in London, in a secret memo, a senior officer had shared concerns with the head of UK Special Forces.


Another 2011 raid that matched one of the dates in the UKSF documents caught our attention. A small mention of civilian casualties in a local newspaper article helped us find it.

Two days after the incident in Nad Ali, eight people were killed by the same unit during a raid on a home in the village of Khanano, in Musa Qala, towards the very north of Helmand. This time seven were shot dead in a guesthouse, and a further detainee was later killed inside the main house.

The similarities with previous incidents were striking. Again, everyone in a guesthouse had been killed and, according to the SAS, fewer AK47s were recovered than the number of people shot dead.


According to the SAS's operational account, an insurgent fired at the SAS as they approached and was killed. In the guesthouse they found four dead bodies, plus two armed men who were apparently responsible. These supposed insurgents were then shot and killed by the SAS, their official version of events said.

Then, it continued, the other inhabitants of the house surrendered and were rounded up - and when another man was taken inside the main building to assist with the search, he picked up a concealed rifle and aimed it at the soldiers, so he too was shot dead.

But people within UKSF told Panorama the SAS's account of the raid described a very unlikely set of events. We had learned from military police sources that the RMP had been concerned that blood patterns and other details in photos taken at the scene were not consistent with what the SAS claimed had taken place.

We discovered senior UKSF officers had remarked in emails sent the following day that the incident was suspiciously similar to several other operations in which an Afghan man had been taken into a property after surrendering to the SAS, then supposedly grabbed a weapon and was shot before he could open fire.

Panorama travelled to the scene and met Mohammad Daud, 43, a quiet, unassuming man who remembered the events of that night in stark detail. Daud told us two of his brothers - Mohammad Tahir, who was 15, and Abdul Zahir, 25 - had been killed along with five others staying in the guesthouse.

Daud said that after the killings, he had discovered that two of the dead men may have been linked to the Taliban. He said they were strangers who had shown up on their doorstep asking for shelter - it's a common Afghan custom to offer travellers a room.

But the family strongly denied that any of those who died had been armed or that they had fired on the SAS.

According to Daud and his family, all seven men in the guesthouse were found lying dead inside the room. This does not tally with the SAS unit's own account that the first person killed by the SAS had been outdoors, threatening troops with an AK rifle. The military police had also been concerned about this inconsistency.

Mohammad Daud

Inside the guesthouse at Mohammad Daud's compound


The report had said four men in the guesthouse were killed by insurgents, who were then in turn killed by the SAS. But the family described how all the men had been shot cleanly to the head or chest - as in the Nad Ali raid - which would be unusual in a firefight.

The SAS had also claimed the insurgents had been positioned behind the dead men when they fired. But the family said all had gunshot wounds to the front of their bodies.

Additionally, the family told us how the bullets had passed through most of the bodies into the bedding and the floor beneath them. Again, this looked like a series of close-range Special Forces killings from above.

Daud showed us the guesthouse. It showed no obvious signs of indiscriminate or accidental firing. There were, however, bullet holes in the door and in the wall behind it.

From the position the body of Daud's brother Mohammad Tahir was found in, they believe he was trying to open the door from the inside when he was shot.

After the shootings in the guesthouse, Daud said, the SAS then moved on to the main building, where they summoned everyone into the courtyard.

According to Daud and others present, the troops then checked their names against a list and asked his brother Ahmad Shah go back inside and open a curtain. Soon shots rang out and Ahmad Shah was dead.

Ahmad Shah shared his name with the suspected leader of a Taliban bomb-making cell. Perhaps the troops were unaware, but it is a common name in Afghanistan. Daud and his family believe the carnage at their home was a result of mistaken identity.

As we kept digging, we uncovered further incidents that followed the same pattern and matched the details of the operations that had caused so much concern among UKSF officers.

An operation in Sangin on 12 March 2011 resulted in the deaths of eight members of the same family. The SAS's account stated its troops were attacked with small arms fire and a grenade.

However, when the Panorama team went to visit the scene, the family denied that there had been any weapons in their home. They said each of the men killed were shot five or six times "on their foreheads, mouth and on the face".

Haji Sadiquallah's compound in Sangin


A low bullet mark on the wall of the guesthouse again suggested one of those killed may have been lying down when he was shot dead.

Haji Sadiquallah told Panorama how his son and nephew were handcuffed, taken back inside separate rooms and shot dead.

"There was no AK-47, no grenade, no machine gun or any other weapon in our house," he said. "They just say that to exonerate themselves. They say that to hide their violence - to legitimise what they did. It is a complete lie."

Haji Sadiquallah


All in all, our evidence painted a disturbing picture - one that suggested war crimes had been committed by British Special Forces and that these had been covered up for years.

Before we left him Habibullah took Panorama's team to visit the graves of his sons.

These were simple graves, decorated with flags and colourful scraps of material, close to the family home. Habibullah said a prayer beside them and then fell silent.

In a further statement today, the MoD said it believed Panorama had jumped to "unjustified conclusions from allegations that have already been fully investigated".

It said: "We have provided a detailed and comprehensive statement to Panorama, highlighting unequivocally how two Service Police operations carried out extensive and independent investigation into allegations about the conduct of UK forces in Afghanistan.

"Neither investigation found sufficient evidence to prosecute. Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect and puts our brave Armed Forces personnel at risk both in the field and reputationally.

"The Ministry of Defence of course stands open to considering any new evidence, there would be no obstruction. But in the absence of this, we strongly object to this subjective reporting."

Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
You Are So Beautiful
Rob Schneider explains California reparations legislation.
Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version
Who knew badminton could get so intense?
An old French tune (by Georges Brassens) Pomplamoose ft. John Schroeder
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Sattahip Motor Show 20
London's Iconic British Telecom Tower Sold To Become Hotel
SONATE AU CLAIR DE LUNE - Moonlight sonata
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
A kiss to build a dream on
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Russia Claims UK Cultural Agency Spied for Ukraine
Mean Blues
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
La Chansonnette
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
Pattaya Addicts
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
Franz Liszt - Liebestraum - Love Dream
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Dream a little dream of me
New video
Unchained Melody sung like you've NEVER heard!
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Dave Brubeck - Take Five
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
Édith Piaf - Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (Sofie)
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Rondo Alla Turca
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
Kiss of fire
Global Law Enforcement Dismantles Lockbit Ransomware Operation
Tom Jones - I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 1967, 1989, 2001
Prince William Urges End to Gaza Conflict
Israel Cachao López - Guajira Clásica
UK court to hear Assange's final appeal against extradition to the US, where he faces charges related to his journalistic work—the publication of a classified video in 2010 that exposed US war crimes against humanity.
Edward Maya - Stereo Love (feat. Vika Jigulina) (Extended Mix)
About 50-60% kids either chose to be YouTuber or influencer
Strauss - Radetzky March - Karajan
A viral video of Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce lying on a Canberra footpath is celebrated by his media mates.
La vie en rose
European Countries React to Navalny's Death by Summoning Russian Diplomats
The Temptations - My Girl (Smokey Robinson Tribute) 2006 Kennedy Cent
Israel has gone ‘beyond self-defence’ in Gaza, says Labour’s Streeting
Orlando Cachaito Lopez Redencion
English farmers to be offered ‘largest ever’ grant scheme amid food security concerns
Edith Piaf - NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN
Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation
RADETZKY MARCH-2008-Wien, New Year Concert
EU Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza Conflict
Only you (And you alone)
EU Vows To Hold Putin "Accountable" After Meeting Alexei Navalny's Wife
Strangers In The Night
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
Charles Aznavour - La Boheme
The EU Initiates Naval Mission to Defend Red Sea Trade Routes
Summer time
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Sting and Stevie Wonder - Fragile (from Sting's 60th birthday concert)
Brazil's Lula Likens Gaza Operation to Holocaust, Israel Says "Red Line" Crossed
Aux Champs Elysees
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Stand By Me - Ben E. King (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Microsoft-backed OpenAI valued at $80bn after company completes deal
La Mer (Beyond the Sea) – Avalon Jazz Band
‘Alexei would want to tell Russia not to give up fighting’
She
Rwandan Footballer's Dismissal Sparks Concerns Over UK Asylum Plan
Nathalie Song by Enzo Petrachi Stjepan Hauser Cello
Whisky Challenges China's Baijiu Market During New Year Celebrations
Shape of My Heart - Sting (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
Radiohead - Creep
Putin Critic Alexei Navalny's "Killers" Refusing To Hand Over Body, Say Allies
Quizás,Quizás,Quizás - Andrea Bocelli - Jennifer Lopez
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - Multi-Couples
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Pentatonix Havana
20 Tech Giants Sign Effort To Fight AI Election Interference Across Globe
Paula Cole - Autumn Leaves
Joe Biden Accuses Putin of Causing Navalny's Death
Oscar Benton Bensonhurst Blues
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
OH NANANA vs ABUSADAMENTE
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
Nina Simone - ”I Put A Spell On You”. Vezi aici cum cântă Jeremy Ragsd
Julian Assange's Wife Warns of His Death if Extradited to US
NIGHTWISH - The Phantom Of The Opera
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Motorshow 2016 Tanjay Negros Oriental
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Monica Bellucci - Ti Amo
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean Milena The Voice France 2018
In Britain Homeowners are receiving CPO’s (Compulsory Purchase Orders) so their homes can be redistributed to migrants
Michael Buble (Help Me Make It Through The Night) feat Loren Allred
Memories Canon In D - Maroon 5 (Boyce Avenue piano acoustic cover)
Matteo Simoni - Marina
Maroon 5 - One More Night
Maroon 5 - Memories
Mark Knopfler - Brothers In Arms (Berlin 2007 Live)
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Romeo And Juliet (Real Live Roadrunni
Marina, Marina - The LUCKY DUCKIES intimist live concert at Guimarães
Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On Mauranne The Voice France 2016
Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet - Joslin - Henri Mancini, Nino Rota
LoLa & Hauser - Love Story
Linkin Park Jay-Z - Numb Encore (Live 8 2005)
Hallelujah Mennel Ibtissem, The Voice France Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End of Love
Leonard Cohen & Natasha Rostova - Dance me to the end of love
La casa de papel - Bella Ciao
La Camisa Negra
L'italiano (Toto Cutugno) - The Gypsy Queens
Juanes - La Camisa Negra
Jonathan and Charlotte - Britain's Got Talent 2012 Live Semi Final - U
John Powell - Assassin's Tango
Joe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat On (LIVE in Dortmund)
Joe Cocker - Unchain My Heart 2002 Live
Joe Cocker - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Jay Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind LIVE
Jason Mraz - Im Yours (live)
Jarrod Radnich - Bohemian Rhapsody - Virtuosic Piano Solo
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
James Blunt - You're Beautiful & Bonfire Heart (Live at The Nobel Peac)
If You Go Away - Helen Merrill & Stan Getz (Tribute to Virna Lisi)
I'LL BE MISSING YOU
I Say a Little Prayer
Hotel California ( Eagles ) 1994 Live
Historia de un amor - Luz Casal. Vezi interpretarea Biancăi Sumanariu
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on Spot
Heart - Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin - Kennedy Center Honors
HAVANA by Camila Cabello Zumba Pre Cooldown TML Crew Kramer Pastra
HAUSER and Señorita - I Will Always Love You
HAUSER - Waka Waka
HAUSER - Sway
HAUSER - Lambada
HAUSER - Historia de un Amor
HAUSER - Despacito
Great Pretender
Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice Samba to 'Volare' - Strictly Come
Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues
GIPSY KINGS VOLARE Penelope Cruz
Fugees - Killing Me Softly With His Song
French Latino - Historia de un Amor
For A Few Dollars More The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
Flashdance • What a Feeling • Irene Cara
Filip Rudan - “Someone You Loved” Audicija 4 The Voice Hrvatska Sez
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
Enya - Only Time
Enrique Iglesias - Bailando (English Version) ft. Sean Paul
Enrique Iglesias - Bailamos
Elena Yerevan Historia de un amor
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (Official Music Video)
Ed Sheeran - Perfect Symphony [with Andrea Bocelli]
Ed Sheeran - Perfect (Official Music Video)
Easy On Me - Adele (Boyce Avenue 90’s style piano acoustic cover) on S
ERA - Ameno
ELENA YEREVAN- Cancion Del Mariachi-IN STUDIO-2017 DPR
Dust In The Wind - Kansas (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Despacito x Shape Of You - Pentatonix
Deep Purple - Child In Time - Live (1970)
David Foster When A Man Loves A WomanIt's A Mans World (SealMichael Bo
Dance me to the end of Love ( Pi-Air Design )
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (feat. L.V.) [Official Music Video]
Conquest Of Paradise (Vangelis), played on Böhm Emporio organ
Cielito Lindo
Chico & The Gypsies - Bamboleo
Canción Del Mariachi - Antonio Banderas, Los Lobos • Desperado
Camila Cabello - Havana (Audio) ft. Young Thug
Camila Cabello - Havana ( cover by J.Fla )
California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas José Feliciano (Boyce Ave
Buster Benton - Money Is The Name of The Game
Hallelujah Pentatonix
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy (Official Music Video)
Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door Emilia The Voice Kids France
Besame Mucho - Cesaria Evora
Ben E. King - Stand by Me Sax Cover Alexandra Ilieva Thomann
Bella Ciao
Bella Ciao - INSTRUMENTAL
Beautiful in White x Canon in D (Piano Cover by Riyandi Kusuma)
Bad Romance - Vintage 1920's Gatsby Style Lady Gaga Cover ft. Ariana Savalas & Sarah Reich(1)
BELLA CIAO 2020 - KARAOKE ITALIANO
BAMBOLEO - Gipsy Kings • Antonio Banderas, Katya Virshilas
BAILANDO (original)
Awesome Ukrainian yodeler - SOFIA SHKIDCHENKO (with English subtitles)
Avicii - The Nights
Atom - The Great Gig in the Sky
Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Official Ly
Antonio Banderas - Cancion del Mariachi (Desperado)
André Rieu - Zorba's Dance (Sirtaki)
André Rieu - Can't Help Falling In Love
André Rieu & Mirusia - Ave Maria
Andrew Reyes Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down The Voice 2020 (
Andreas Kümmert Whiter Shade Of Pale The Voice of Germany 2013 Showd
And I Love You So
All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version
Alan Walker - Faded (Piano Cover)
Ain't No Sunshine -- Bill Withers (cover by Canen 12 y.o.)
African music
Adriana Vidović - “Creep” Audicija 4 The Voice Hrvatska Sezona 3
Adriana Vidović - “Believer” Nokaut 3 The Voice Hrvatska Sezona 3
A Fistful of Dollars - The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Tuva
4 Beautiful Soundtracks Relaxing Piano [10min]
2CELLOS - Whole Lotta Love vs. Beethoven 5th Symphony [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
2CELLOS - Smooth Criminal (Live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo)
2CELLOS - Smells Like Teen Spirit [Live at Sydney Opera House]
2CELLOS - Despacito [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
13 Year Old Girl Playing Il Silenzio (The Silence) - André Rieu
094.All About That Bass
00 - SADNESS PART 1
(Ghost) Riders In the Sky (American Outlaws Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You - Bryan Adams (Boyce Avenue ft. Conn
What a wonderful world
Moon river
×