Australian defence report says SAS officers ignored illegal weapon planting on dead Afghans

The Guardian reported that a previously unpublished Australian Defence Force (ADF) inspectorate report says some Australian SAS officers knew soldiers under their command were using “throwdowns” – planting weapons on dead Afghan civilians to portray them as combatants – but took no action to stop the practice. The executive summary of a 2021 investigation into the “cultural context” of the special operations command was posted online this week. The inspector general of the Australian Defence Force described a “breakdown of command” and an erosion of military discipline during special forces operations in Afghanistan, which “resulted in episodes of potential and actual egregious behaviour”. The report says nothing was done to prevent the planting of weapons on dead Afghans, highlighting a failure of oversight within the special forces unit.

Why it matters

The findings point to alleged unlawful conduct by Australian special forces and a lack of command control, raising questions about accountability and military discipline.

Key details

Location

Australia · Oceania

Reported by

The Guardian

First reported

29 Oct 2026, 03:35 IST

Key names

Australian SAS, Afghans, ADF, Afghan

Section

World

Sources

This is an independent summary. Read the full, original reporting from the publisher:

• The GuardianAustralian SAS officers knew about unlawful ‘throwdowns’ on dead Afghans, report says 29 Oct, 03:35

Read the full story at The Guardian ↗

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