Australian spy with access to classified data on Afghan ‘war crimes’ mysteriously died: Report
An Australian intelligence officer, who was found dead in the army headquarters carpark in December, reportedly had access to classified information on the misconduct of Australian troops in Afghanistan.
The officer, who has not been publicly named, was found in the Russell complex in Canberra.
At the time, police said the death was not suspicious, as he had apparently committed suicide.
His mysterious death occurred just a month after a report confirmed Australian forces murdered dozens of civilians or prisoners in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
The report released by Major General Justice Paul Brereton determined Australian special forces had murdered 39 civilians and prisoners, including children, in Afghanistan
The Sunday Telegraph now says in a report that the officer was “clutching an encrypted hard drive” with details about what really happened in Afghanistan.
“It is understood the intelligence officer was going to make the information public,” a source told the Telegraph.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the information on the hard drive “would change a lot of the public stance and opinion on what went on in Afghanistan,” if it was published.
The Brereton report, which made headlines in November last year, confirmed that senior commandos forced junior soldiers to kill defenseless captives in order to “blood” the troops for combat.
Australia later dismissed a number of troops, who were suspected of being witnesses to the killings or of being dishonest in testifying.
Prime Minister Morrison Scott Morrison also said that the findings of the military report are “disturbing and distressing,” adding that his government “will deal with it under our law, under our systems, and our justice system.”
Australia, which is not a member of NATO, has had an active role in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
In May, it sent an additional 30 troops to Afghanistan to join the NATO-led mission, bringing its total Afghan deployment to 300 troops.
The US-led invasion removed the Taliban militant group from power. However, violence continues to take a heavy toll on the country. The chaos has also paved the way for the Daesh terror group to gain a foothold in Afghanistan’s east.
