RAF POLICE & MILITARY INVESTIGATION

Two British servicemen from the RAF Regiment have been withdrawn from the frontline in Afghanistan and returned to Britain. Damning photographs apparently showing airmen posing in a glorified manner next to the bloodstained body of a Taliban fighter are now being investigated after images were brought to the attention of the Military Police.

In one graphic picture, a grinning serviceman gives a thumbs-up as he crouches beside a body. Trails of blood, seemingly from the man’s wounds, can be seen beside him.

Other photographs show more bodies of insurgents and there are concerns that the images could be used for recruitment and propaganda by the Taliban in the months leading up to the withdrawal of UK forces from Afghanistan later this year.

Described by some as being grotesque, others have been quick in condemning the apparent ‘stupidity’ of the airmen which they say has handed the Taliban a tool to beat the remaining British troops with prior to their departure from this war-torn country.

The photographs were taken after a Taliban attack on the main British base at Camp Bastion in September 2012, while Prince Harry was deployed to fly Apache attack helicopters.

A group of 15 Taliban fighters wearing stolen US military uniforms crept towards the camp, which was ringed by a 30ft metal fence and barbed-wiring. They cut through the wire and destroyed aircraft situated on the ground inside the camp, vehicles and equipment.

A three-hour gun battle then raged involving 50 British troops, some of whom have been decorated for bravery. Two US Marines were killed and 16 troops – eight US and eight British – were injured. Of the 15 insurgents, 14 were killed and one captured.

It is two of these Taliban bodies and the actions of two members of the RAF Regiment that are now at the centre of the hugely sensitive inquiry. The airmen are from 51 Squadron RAF Regiment, currently based in Moray, Scotland.

The Ministry of Defence said the images came to its attention last month and that military police are now investigating.

Two of the photographs appear to show British airmen giving the thumbs-up but it is unclear whether it is the same man. Defence officials said there was no excuse for such behaviour. Contrary to all instructions, these appear to break military rules.

The RAF insists it has a ‘zero-tolerance policy’ on the mistreatment of deceased enemy personnel. The incident is now the subject of an ongoing RAF Police investigation.

A spokesperson for Amnesty International, said: ‘These pictures are appalling. They violate international humanitarian law standards, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the disrespectful and degrading treatment of the bodies of dead combatants.’

The photographs emerged following the conviction of Sergeant Alexander Blackman, a Royal Marine, for executing a seriously wounded Taliban prisoner. The 39-year-old shot the captive in the chest at close range with his 9mm pistol.

Controversially, Sergeant Blackman is serving a minimum of ten years in prison after becoming the first British serviceman to be found guilty of murder in a war zone since the Second World War.

Blackman killed the insurgent on September 15, 2011. Recordings from a helmet-mounted camera worn by a fellow Royal Marine captured the moments when Blackman shot the prisoner.

OPINION

The unedifying sight of a British airman doing the thumbs-up next to the dead corpse has understandably provoked widespread anger. For civilians the images offer an uncomfortable position between death and glee. Such actions fall short of the respect demanded in the articles of the Geneva Conventions for the bodies of enemy combatants.

Laid before you above are the events that transpired on the evening of September 14, 2012, in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. 15 Taliban fighters dressed in US Army uniforms started their attack at 10pm, cutting through the perimeter wire of the base and opened fire with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). The firefight that ensued lasted for several hours and, by the end of it, six RAF Harrier jets were burnt out and destroyed, two Marines were dead, and a dozen more British and American soldiers were injured. All but one of the Taliban fighters was dead.

The attack that night was, undoubtedly, one of the most shocking incidents of the Afghan war since deployment began in 2001. The attack revealed culpable security lapses in the running of the camp, and the RAF airmen instantly caught up in it must have been terrified yet exhilarated to be alive. It is apt to point out that many defending the base that evening were decorated for bravery.

Two of them, however, did something in bad taste, by posing victoriously next to an enemy corpse. Such folly has been compounded and made much worse as the images have appeared online, provoking outrage as the pictures could be used as a propaganda weapon against Western forces as they prepare to leave Afghanistan by the end of the year. A ‘selfie’ type culture which has now stemmed into the battlefield seems certain to be at the centre of the military police investigation, and how it ever came to pass publicly.

Opinions will vary as to the extent of the damage caused and what action should be taken. We should trust, though, that a sense of proportion is retained. Young men have found themselves in extreme danger given the perilous circumstances of the moment and were sent there at the behest of our government.

But the difficulty will be in a matter of interpretation. Whilst Camp Bastion is not Abu Ghraib, in which US guards pictured themselves degrading Iraqi prisoners, the British authorities seem likely to draw parallels. Having survived the attack the airmen clearly would have felt euphoric, but the reality of war – including the rogue emotions that accompany killing and survival – does not always chime with civilian sensitivities.

• The images concerned will not be posted on this site.