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Woman Behind SAS 'War Crimes' Report Breaks Her Silence

The woman who interviewed hardened special forces soldiers to uncover horrifying 'war crimes' by Australian troops in Afghanistan has broken her silence, Daily Mail reported.

Dr Samantha Crompvoets is the author of a secret 2016 report commissioned by military chief General Angus Campbell, according to the report.

Daily Mail reports that four years after her investigation, which led to a report due out this week that could result in charges against 10 soldiers, she said it appeared Australian special forces soldiers were 'killing as a sport'.

"One of the most disturbing things for me was people saying the phrase 'it happened all the time','" she told 60 Minutes on Sunday night, as quoted by Daily Mail. 

"We're not talking about a couple of fog of war events that were, you know, perhaps confusing to understand. This is deliberate repeated patterns of behaviour. 'What was described to me... is that there was a killing for sport mentality," she said as quoted by Daily Mail. 

She said SAS members were 'obsessed' with the 'kill boards' they kept on their walls that included murdered prisoners and civilians to increase their counts.

Dr Crompvoets, 44, detailed a series of often-brutal accounts that have emerged about the conduct of Australia's elite special forces units, according to Daily Mail. 

They range from reports of troops killing a six-year-old child in a house raid, to a dead man's hand being severed, to a prisoner being shot dead to save space in a helicopter, Daily Mail report says. 

One of the more harrowing cases was that of two 14-year-old boys who were allegedly executed by SAS soldiers, her report read.

"They were stopped and searched and their throats were slit. The rest of the troop then had to 'clean up the mess' by finding others to help dispose of the bodies... the bodies were bagged and thrown in a nearby river," her report read.

Leaked portions of her report documented at least 12 cases of Afghans who 'posed no threat' being executed by Australian SAS operators, Daily Mail reports.

This comes as SBS News reported last week that a special investigator will be appointed to probe allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and prosecute any criminal misconduct, following a four-year inquiry into possible breaches of law between 2005 and 2016.

Announcing the new investigation on Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it would "go for an indeterminate amount of time" and address the criminal matters raised in the inspector-general's report, SBS report said.

"The Office of the Special Investigator will ... investigate those allegations, gather evidence and, where appropriate, refer briefs to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration," he told reporters in Canberra.

"There is a significant number of incidents or issues to be investigated further and that investigation will be inherently complex."

Woman Behind SAS 'War Crimes' Report Breaks Her Silence

Leaked portions of her report documented at least 12 cases of Afghans who 'posed no threat' being executed by Australian SAS operators.

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The woman who interviewed hardened special forces soldiers to uncover horrifying 'war crimes' by Australian troops in Afghanistan has broken her silence, Daily Mail reported.

Dr Samantha Crompvoets is the author of a secret 2016 report commissioned by military chief General Angus Campbell, according to the report.

Daily Mail reports that four years after her investigation, which led to a report due out this week that could result in charges against 10 soldiers, she said it appeared Australian special forces soldiers were 'killing as a sport'.

"One of the most disturbing things for me was people saying the phrase 'it happened all the time','" she told 60 Minutes on Sunday night, as quoted by Daily Mail. 

"We're not talking about a couple of fog of war events that were, you know, perhaps confusing to understand. This is deliberate repeated patterns of behaviour. 'What was described to me... is that there was a killing for sport mentality," she said as quoted by Daily Mail. 

She said SAS members were 'obsessed' with the 'kill boards' they kept on their walls that included murdered prisoners and civilians to increase their counts.

Dr Crompvoets, 44, detailed a series of often-brutal accounts that have emerged about the conduct of Australia's elite special forces units, according to Daily Mail. 

They range from reports of troops killing a six-year-old child in a house raid, to a dead man's hand being severed, to a prisoner being shot dead to save space in a helicopter, Daily Mail report says. 

One of the more harrowing cases was that of two 14-year-old boys who were allegedly executed by SAS soldiers, her report read.

"They were stopped and searched and their throats were slit. The rest of the troop then had to 'clean up the mess' by finding others to help dispose of the bodies... the bodies were bagged and thrown in a nearby river," her report read.

Leaked portions of her report documented at least 12 cases of Afghans who 'posed no threat' being executed by Australian SAS operators, Daily Mail reports.

This comes as SBS News reported last week that a special investigator will be appointed to probe allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and prosecute any criminal misconduct, following a four-year inquiry into possible breaches of law between 2005 and 2016.

Announcing the new investigation on Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it would "go for an indeterminate amount of time" and address the criminal matters raised in the inspector-general's report, SBS report said.

"The Office of the Special Investigator will ... investigate those allegations, gather evidence and, where appropriate, refer briefs to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for consideration," he told reporters in Canberra.

"There is a significant number of incidents or issues to be investigated further and that investigation will be inherently complex."

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