• UK special forces allegedly suppressed evidence of war crimes in Afghanistan.
• A whistleblower claims senior commanders knew about unlawful killings since 2011.
• Evidence reveals 54 civilians were killed during a six-month tour by the SAS.
• The inquiry seeks to determine the extent and cover-up of these alleged actions.
• Concerns raised about accountability and reporting procedures within UK military.

A former senior officer of the UK Special Forces, identified only as N1466, has testified that senior military leaders suppressed evidence of potential war crimes committed by special forces in Afghanistan, according to BBC, Reuters, and Al Jazeera.

The inquiry was launched following a BBC documentary highlighting that SAS soldiers may have killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances during a six-month deployment in Afghanistan. The inquiry aims to examine whether these potential war crimes were reported adequately and whether investigations into civilian deaths were appropriately conducted, drawing considerable attention to the conduct of British forces, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera.

N1466's explosive testimony indicates that the leadership was aware of allegations of unlawful killings as early as 2011 but chose not to act on them. He pointed out that during one raid, nine Afghan men were killed while only three weapons were recovered, spotlighting the discrepancies in operations reports, as stated by BBC and reiterated in Reuters.

N1466 expressed that instead of referring the allegations to military police, the director of special forces at that time ordered an internal review, which he characterized as a superficial exercise meant to deter further scrutiny. This decision allegedly allowed the killings to continue unchecked for at least two more years, as highlighted by evidence presented to the inquiry, according to Al Jazeera.

Furthermore, N1466 detailed instances where SAS troops boasted of killing individuals regardless of their threat level. "Those people who died unnecessarily from that point onwards, there were two toddlers shot in their bed next to their parents; all that would not necessarily have come to pass," he reflected, emphasizing his regret over not reporting his findings sooner, as conveyed by Reuters and corroborated by Al Jazeera.

The inquiry, which continues to gather evidence, aims to ascertain whether any wrongdoing occurred and whether the military police properly investigated allegations against the special forces over the years. Previous investigations by the British military have failed to result in prosecutions, casting a longer shadow over accountability measures within the UK military, according to BBC, Reuters, and Al Jazeera.