NZDF confirms probe into Afghanistan battle

Outgoing Defence Force Chief Tim Keating has revealed there is an investigation under way into allegations made in The Valley documentary.

The Stuff Circuit series looked into the 2004 SAS raid in Afghanistan which led to the awarding of a Victoria Cross to Willie Apiata. Apiata was recognised for bravery after carrying a seriously wounded soldier 70 metres across a battlefield through enemy fire.

In 2017, Keating said he would respond publicly but did not. Yesterday, when asked by Stuff Circuit why, he said that because of the seriousness of the claims, there was a legal investigation under way.

‘‘All those allegations that were made in the documentary series are being looked at by us to see if they reach a threshold,’’ Keating said. The investigation was following a legal process under the Armed Forces Discipline Act and the Defence Act.

While he was due to stand down at the end of the month, he said the process would continue.

In the documentary, villagers and military sources said NZ SAS troopers provoked the firefight, mistreated bodies, kicked in doors and tied up innocent civilians. The Defence Force gave a 34-page response to the allegations raised in The Valley, and admitted Afghan authorities spoken to as part of the documentary might be right.

The documentary series included Stuff Circuit journalists going to the site of the Battle of Baghak, where two soldiers from New Zealand’s Provincial Reconstruction Team died in an August 2012 firefight with insurgents.

Four Afghan soldiers were also killed. In its response in 2017, the Defence Force conceded its inquiry into the battle may have got things wrong.

And it confirmed that friendly New Zealand and Afghan forces may have fired at each other.