Australian Federal Police have travelled to Afghanistan to investigate “allegations of war crimes” committed by Australian special forces soldiers.
The AFP has confirmed officers were “recently deployed” to support investigations into possible war crimes involving Australian military personnel.
“In June 2018, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) received a referral to investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Australian soldiers during the Afghanistan conflict,” AFP said in a statement.
“Investigators recently deployed to Afghanistan in support of the war crimes investigations.” 
First revealed in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, the deployment is reportedly the first time the AFP has travelled overseas to investigate alleged war crimes.
Australian Defence Force soldiers await the arrival of two Mi-17 helicopters in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Source: Australian Department of Defence
But the AFP did not provide any insight into the alleged incidents being investigated.
“As this investigation is ongoing, the AFP will not confirm or deny the specific incidents or the identity of those subject to the investigation,” AFP said in a statement.
The AFP said their investigations were being supported by Afghan authorities.
“It is not appropriate for the AFP to provide further comment at this time.”
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald have reported the federal police investigations relate to a raid involving Australian SAS soldiers and Afghan security forces in September 2012.
Details of the raid on an Afghan village in pursuit of a rogue Afghan soldier were first published by the ABC in June last year.
Three men were allegedly killed in the operation on the village of Darwan, located in central Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province.
This included reports an Afghani farmer was detained by the raiding group and thrown from the top of a retaining wall.
The Nine Newspapers report witness statements from SAS personnel in Australia have been obtained over how the farmer was allegedly treated.
The Australian Defence Force began investigating rumours of breaches of law in the Afghanistan conflict in 2016.
But this inquiry gained “significant momentum” after public calls for information were made in September 2017, according to documents from the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force tabled in Parliament.
“The Inquiry is being conducted in private because it has implications for operational security and persons with protected identities are involved,” the report reads.
“This process is intended not only to ascertain whether there has been misconduct but equally to exonerate those who may be affected by unsubstantiated rumours and allegations.”
