Australian former SAS soldier held over alleged war crime in Afghanistan

A erstwhile Australian SAS worker has been arrested and volition beryllium charged with murder, pursuing an probe into alleged warfare crimes successful Afghanistan.

The 41-year-old antheral was detained connected Monday successful New South Wales (NSW).

He is expected to beryllium charged with 1 number of "war transgression - murder" and volition look tribunal aboriginal connected Monday, Australian Federal Police said.

The offence carries a maximum condemnation of beingness successful jail.

The arrested antheral has not yet been officially identified by authorities. The Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says helium is the idiosyncratic referred to arsenic Soldier C successful a 2020 ABC Four Corners documentary exposing alleged warfare crimes.

Footage showed Soldier C shooting an Afghan antheral successful a wheat tract successful Uruzgan Province successful confederate Afghanistan successful 2012.

The probe was carried retired by the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), the assemblage acceptable up to analyse alleged warfare crimes pursuing a four-year enquiry led by an Army Reserve large wide and NSW Supreme Court justice Paul Brereton.

The Brereton Report - released successful 2020 - recovered determination was "credible evidence" that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 radical during the Afghan war.

It said 19 existent oregon ex-special forces soldiers should beryllium investigated by constabulary implicit killings of "prisoners, farmers oregon civilians" from 2009 to 2013.

This is believed to beryllium the archetypal apprehension linked to that inquiry.

At the time, the Australian Defence Force blamed crimes connected an unchecked "warrior culture" among immoderate soldiers.