Australian military report says SAS officers knew of unlawful 'throwdowns' in Afghanistan

A newly released Australian Defence Force inspector-general report says some SAS officers knew soldiers under their command were planting weapons on dead Afghan civilians to make them appear to be combatants. The report says the practice, described as "throwdowns," was not stopped despite officers having actual knowledge of misconduct in theatre. It adds a new layer to long-running scrutiny of Australian special forces conduct in Afghanistan.

The executive summary of the 2021 investigation was posted online this week. It examines the cultural context of the special operations command and describes a "breakdown of command" and erosion of military discipline during operations in Afghanistan. According to the report, this led to "episodes of potential and actual egregious behaviour," and officers with knowledge of misconduct did not take effective action to investigate or address it.

The findings contrast with the earlier Brereton Inquiry, which was made public in 2020 and found credible information that Australian special forces personnel murdered 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners. That inquiry said the criminal behaviour it uncovered was "conceived, committed, continued, and concealed at patrol commander level." Patrol commanders in the Australian SAS are not commissioned officers and are typically corporals or sergeants. The new report, commissioned after the Brereton findings by former defence force chief Angus Campbell, says some officers were aware of unlawful behaviour and failed to intervene.

The report is significant because it suggests responsibility may have extended beyond the lower ranks identified in the earlier inquiry. It points to possible failures in oversight, discipline and reporting within a military chain of command operating in a conflict zone. For Australia, the findings deepen questions about accountability for alleged war crimes and the handling of misconduct allegations inside elite units.

The report also matters for Afghanistan, where allegations of unlawful killings and concealment by foreign forces have remained politically and legally sensitive. The new summary says the use of throwdowns was part of fraudulent reporting, indicating that the issue was not limited to isolated battlefield decisions. Instead, it describes a wider command failure that affected how incidents were recorded and reviewed.

What remains unclear from the published summary is the full extent of the officers' knowledge, how many cases involved throwdowns, and whether further action will follow from the report's findings. The summary does not set out any new criminal charges or disciplinary outcomes. Attention is likely to remain on whether the Australian Defence Force or civilian authorities move to investigate the officers named or implicated in the broader inquiry.

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