Video shows Australian SAS soldier shooting and killing unarmed man at close range in Afghanistan
Extraordinary footage captured on the helmet camera of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan could result in charges of war crimes.
Key points:
The video shows the SAS soldier shooting the man dead at close range
The video is at odds with what soldiers told investigators, who ruled the killing was self-defence
Another SAS soldier who served in the same squadron has described it as a "straight-up execution"
Four Corners has obtained video which shows a Special Air Service (SAS) operator shooting an unarmed Afghan man three times in the head and chest while he cowers on the ground.
His death took place within three minutes of the soldiers arriving in the village.
An Australian Defence Force (ADF) investigation later ruled the killing was justified because it was in self-defence.
The killing was one of a series of cases uncovered by Four Corners that may constitute war crimes.
A former member of the same SAS squadron, who was on the 2012 deployment to Afghanistan and has been shown the vision, described the killing to Four Corners as a "straight-up execution"...
...The SAS soldier who shot Dad Mohammad claimed the Afghan had been shot because he had been seen with a radio.
But the footage does not show any radio, only the prayer beads in the man's hand.
Soldier C also claimed he fired from 15 to 20 metres away in self-defence.
However, the video shows Dad Mohammad still and quiet on the ground for more than 20 seconds, before the soldier, standing over him, shoots him three times from fewer than 2 metres away.
The ADF investigators concluded that the Afghan was lawfully killed because he posed a direct threat to the Australians.
Four Corners can reveal that the SAS soldier who killed Dad Mohammad is still serving in the special forces.
Defence did not answer Four Corners' questions about Dad Mohammad's killing and other allegations of war crimes.
In a statement, it said the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force was investigating "whether there is any substance to rumour and allegations" about possible war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
It said the inquiry was ongoing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03...hot-at-close-range-by-australian-sas/12028512
