Australian soldiers from 2nd Commando Regiment seen in disturbing videos in Afghanistan: Kill Quota

Elite Australian soldiers have been captured in disturbing videos serving in Afghanistan, making fun of a ‘kill quota’, firing at unarmed civilians and watching brutal bashing.

The footage comes just two years after the Brereton Inquiry released its findings that elite Special Air Service (SAS) officers were responsible for dozens of illegal murders and cover-ups from 2006-2015.

Now serious questions have also been raised about the alleged behavior of the 2nd Commando Regiment in Afghanistan, with the latest clips from late 2012 being aired for the first time on Tuesday night.

One video shows Australian commandos preparing for an operation in Afghanistan discuss plans to hit a “kill quota” of 10.

Another video shows an Afghan soldier beating a man crouching on the ground with a stick while Australian commandos look on.

A third clip to music shows an Australian soldier in a moving helicopter in mid-air firing his assault rifle at what appears to be several unarmed Afghan civilians, ducking to the ground for cover.

The “quota” is mentioned up to a dozen times in the first 90-second video of soldiers preparing for an operation.

‘What’s going to happen tonight? Ready for ‘Operation Final Job’?’ a soldier asks a comrade.

“There’s bloody murder going on,” he replies.

The cameraman turns to another command.

“We need a primary kill team. What’s going to happen tonight?’

“We have a quota of 10. The quota is 10,” he tells the cameraman.

“Shall we meet the quota?”

‘Yes.’

A third commando is asked if they would meet the quota tonight.

“F*** yeah,” his buddy replies.

“I’m going to kill some dogs too!”

The video ends with the cameraman pointing the lens at himself.

‘Last job. Log out. We’re going to meet the quota.’

The images horrified their former comrades, who said any talk of a ‘kill quota’ should be stamped immediately.

“You can’t even talk like that, honestly,” a former senior officer told me ABCs 7.30.

“It would be unacceptable to even joke about it. It’s just not on.’

Former military attorney Glenn Kolomeitz holds the 2nd Commando Regiment in high esteem and has served alongside them.

But he admits the “quota” video is disturbing and doesn’t look good.

“Although I don’t believe for a moment they’re talking about some death quota,” Kolomeitz said.

“These guys are joking. They are about to go outside the wire and do a very tough job.

“It doesn’t reflect well on our special operations forces. I’ve acted for many, many of these guys. The appreciation I have for 2nd Commando doesn’t fit well with what we’ve seen in those images, so to speak.’

Kolomeitz believes that another video of a comrade in a helicopter firing at Afghan civilians in residential complexes needs further investigation.

“To me it seems like some of these figures are really trying to get away and try to avoid being shot,” he told the program.

“They seem to be ducking away from the dust and debris flying around him in that camp.

‘I can’t say it explicitly falls outside the rule of engagement without knowing the context in which it took place, but the images alone warrant a second look.’

A third video shows another Afghan civilian being detained by Australian soldiers after they found a walkie-talkie.

“Go down now!” one can hear one of the men ordering.

Armed with a stick, an Afghan soldier is filmed repeatedly beating one of the arrested men while the Australians watch, do or say nothing.

Huddled on the ground, the civilian can be heard telling the soldiers that he is a farmer and insisting that the radio does not belong to him.

“This is the truth, look at my hands,” he says.

According to the ABC, some of the commandos involved are now being investigated by the Australian War Crimes Service.

The Australian Defense Force insists it never approved use of kill counts as a measure of success in Afghanistan.

The publicly released version of the Afghanistan Inquiry report briefly mentions ‘catch and release, and the kill count’ as one of the factors whose presence may have contributed to an environment in which aberrant behavior [in the SAS] could take place and not be recognized,” a spokesperson said.

Regarding the helicopter footage, the ADF said all members must comply with the Rules of Engagement, which the ADF said could not be discussed due to operational security reasons.

Regarding civilian bashing, the ADF said its mission was to support the Afghan government in containing the threat of international terrorism and to support the development of a “capable and sustainable Afghan defense force.”

The Brereton investigation uncovered as many as 39 unlawful murders, along with cheating and cover-ups, by 25 current or former SAS employees.