British soldiers could face charges for war crimes that were allegedly committed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to the head of a UK government unit that handles claims of torture and unlawful killing.
Mark Warwick, a former police detective who runs the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), told The Independent in an interview on Saturday that there’s sufficient evidence to justify charges against British troops for the abuse and murder of Iraqi civilians.
“There are serious allegations that we are investigating across the whole range of IHAT investigations, which incorporates homicide,” Warwick said. “I feel there is significant evidence to be obtained to put a strong case before the Service Prosecuting Authority to prosecute and charge.”
The UK Ministry of Defense created IHAT in 2010 to be an investigative agency that operates independently of the military. According to a 2015 report, IHAT has received more than 1,500 reports of possible war crimes and incidents of detainee abuse.
An inquiry into the allegations started in 2006, but was soon abandoned without yielding any results or a formal investigation. The International Criminal Court (ICC) reopened its inquiry in 2014, and released a report that same year that that said it was looking into a litany of abuses allegedly carried out by British forces across different UK-controlled facilities between 2003 and 2008.
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