The Independent (UK): A minister repeatedly raised concerns about potential war crimes committed by UK special forces in Afghanistan with senior figures within the Ministry of Defence – telling Ben Wallace “something stinks” – and was unable to disprove an alleged cover-up of killings when he investigated. Veterans minister Johnny Mercer was speaking to an inquiry into dozens of killings of Afghan civilians by the SAS between 2010 and 2013. He told the inquiry on Tuesday that he did not want to believe reports that the elite British soldiers had killed unarmed Afghans, but he was “unable” to find “something to disprove these allegations”. He said that when he investigated the matter with the senior figures within UK special forces (UKSF) they were “unable to answer basic questions” and he “did not believe them”. Click here to read more (external link).