Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Australian special forces committed 39 unlawful killings during operations in Afghanistan, according to a new report released Thursday that recommended federal police investigate 19 soldiers for criminal prosecution.
Australia Defense Chief Angus Campbell said Thursday the report's findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and that he apologizes to the people of Afghanistan for the crimes committed by his soldiers.
"It's my duty, and that of my fellow chiefs, to set things right," he said.
Quoting the report, Campbell blamed the killings on the soldiers' embrace of a "warrior culture."
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"A misplaced focus on prestige, status and power, turning away from the regiment's heritage of military excellence fused with the quiet humility of service," he said. "As the units became consumed with preparing for and fighting the war, much of the good order and discipline of military life fell away. Cutting corners, bending and ignoring rules was normalized."
The report released by the Australian Defense Force Inspector-General was based on more than 20,000 documents and 25,000 images, as well as interviews with 423 witnesses. The report was initiated in 2016 following the surfacing of rumors and allegations that some soldiers may have breached the Law of Armed Conflict in the Middle Eastern country from 2005 to 2016.
During the four-year investigation, the report found 23 incidents in which 39 people were unlawfully killed by or at the direction of special forces soldiers that would meet the definition of a war crime in court. It also found two incidents when a person was mistreated that would also reach the threshold in court of a war crime.
Twenty-five current and former Australian Defense Force soldiers were involved in these incidents as either the perpetrators or as principals or accessories, it said.
"None of these are incidents of disputable decisions made under pressure in the heat of battle," the report said. "The cases in which it has been found that there is credible information of a war crime are ones in which it was or should have been plain that the person killed was a non-combatant."
The report said there was credible information that junior soldiers were required by their patrol commanders to shoot a prisoner in order to achieve that soldier's first kill -- a practice known as "blooding."
It also said some members of the Special Operations Task Group carried foreign weapons or equipment known as "throwdowns," which were to be placed with bodies for the purposes of portraying them as legitimate targets.
Campbell said he accepted the report's 143 recommendations, which will be implemented through a plan currently being developed.
"To the people of Afghanistan, on behalf of the Australian Defense Force, I sincerely and unreservedly apologize for any wrongdoing by Australian soldiers," he said.
The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had called him and "expressed his deepest sorrow over the misconduct by some Australian troops" and assured him of investigations and justice.
