• More than 30 veterans allege UK Special Forces committed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Former soldiers describe executions of unarmed individuals, including children.
• Testimonies highlight routine killings and falsification of military reports.
• Reports suggest significant leadership knowledge of these actions.
• Ministry of Defence supports ongoing public inquiry into the allegations.

Over 30 former members of the UK Special Forces have come forward with alarming eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the execution of civilians and children. Speaking with BBC Panorama, veterans from the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) recounted disturbing incidents such as one soldier's description of a young boy being handcuffed and shot, stating, “He was clearly a child, not even close to fighting age,” reflecting a broader pattern of violence deemed to “became routine” among the ranks, according to BBC, TRT Global, and Anadolu Agency.

The testimonies indicate that killings were not isolated incidents but a common practice, with some witnesses reporting that troops would search, handcuff, and subsequently execute detainees. One SAS veteran noted, “They’d search someone, handcuff them, then shoot them,” along with planting weapons on the deceased to misrepresent the circumstances of their deaths, corroborating the claims of systematic executions, as detailed by BBC and TRT Global.

Former members describing their experiences suggested that some soldiers exhibited severe psychological issues, referring to them as “psychotic murderers” who would execute sleeping individuals upon entry to their locations. One veteran articulated a chilling observation: “It’s not justified, killing people in their sleep,” which strongly critiques the operational tactics employed by these elite forces, as revealed in reports by BBC and Anadolu Agency.

Eyewitness accounts further indicate that soldiers employed “drop weapons” to create a false narrative at crime scenes, explaining that they would take fake grenades or other guns to plant by the deceased. This manipulation of evidence extended to the existence of falsified post-operation reports, which were crafted with assistance from senior officers to evade military oversight, resulting in reports referred to as “fiction,” according to TRT Global and Anadolu Agency.

One veteran detailed a specific operation in Iraq where an unarmed man was killed despite no threat being posed, emphasizing a systematic disregard for basic military professionalism. “It was disgraceful," he opined, echoing sentiments shared by other veterans who believe that these unlawful actions were known to high-ranking officials within the military, illustrating a profound breach of conduct as reported by BBC, TRT Global, and Anadolu Agency.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron was said to have been informed about the prevalence of these killings during discussions with then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai, indicating awareness of the issue among top military leaders. Gen Douglas Lute, a former NATO ambassador, noted, "There was no senior Western diplomat or military leader who would have missed the fact that this was a major irritant for him," underscoring the systemic nature of the complaints regarding UK Special Forces operations, according to BBC and TRT Global.

The Ministry of Defence has publicly stated its commitment to the ongoing inquiry and has urged veterans to provide information, though it refrained from commenting on specifics related to the allegations. Bruce Houlder KC, a former military prosecutor, asserted the inquiry must delve into the extent of knowledge about the war crimes among senior officials, emphasizing, “You need to know how far the rot went up,” a sentiment echoed in the discussions surrounding the inquiry's purpose and significance, as mentioned by BBC, TRT Global, and Anadolu Agency.