Australian special forces involved in murder of 39 Afghan civilians, war crimes report alleges

Brereton report finds prisoners were executed to blood' junior soldiers and unlawful killings were deliberately covered up

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Australian special forces were allegedly involved in the murder of 39 Afghan civilians, in some cases executing prisoners to blood" junior soldiers before inventing cover stories and planting weapons on corpses, a major report has found.

For more than four years, the Maj Gen Justice Paul Brereton has investigated allegations that a small group within the elite Special Air Services and commandos regiments killed and brutalised Afghan civilians, in some cases allegedly slitting throats, gloating about their actions, keeping kill counts, and photographing bodies with planted phones and weapons to justify their actions.