The inquiry was launched on 22 March 2023 and is chaired by judge Charles Haddon-Cave.[1]
Inquiry
The inquiry centres around the activities of British special forces deployed in Afghanistan. The inquiry planned to focus on night-time raids, known as Deliberate Detention Operations, including the 2012 Shesh Aba raid by British armed forces. Terms of reference included investigating the alleged cover-ups of the fatal incidents.[5]
The Ministry of Defence initially made an application to prevent the British public from hearing criticisms of the special forces, but abandoned that ambition on 3 July 2023.[6]
Hundreds of former members of the Afghan Territorial Force (ATF) 444 and Commando Force (CF) 333 that were part of the Ministry of Interior Affairs General Command of Police Special Units who were trained by and fought alongside UK Special Forces have been refused resettlement to the UK.[8][9] One former UK Special Forces officer told the BBC that "At a time when certain actions by UK Special Forces are under investigation by a public inquiry, their headquarters also had the power to prevent former Afghan Special Forces colleagues and potential witnesses to these actions from getting safely to the UK."[10]