The claims of extrajudicial executions by British forces in Afghanistan have prompted the UK to start an investigation to see if the military properly probed unlawful deaths of civilians.
The United Kingdom has launched an independent inquiry into allegations that British armed forces carried out dozens of extrajudicial killings in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013. The inquiry will investigate whether the UK military adequately investigated allegations of unlawful killings of civilians by British forces. The families of eight Afghans who were allegedly killed by British special forces during night-time raids brought legal challenges, which led to the inquiry being ordered by the UK government. The inquiry will also review whether the deaths were part of a wider pattern of extrajudicial killings by British forces in Afghanistan. Ministry of Defence documents have shown that officers had widespread knowledge about unlawful killings by UK special forces in Afghanistan but did not report the information to military police.