Data has been recovered and seized from the back-up drives of a special forces computer system containing allegations of murders in Afghanistan, it has been revealed.
The computer system was thought to have been “irreversibly” wiped.
In a statement, the Afghanistan Inquiry said it received information about the whereabouts of the back-up drives in December 2023 and seized data with the help of the Defence Serious Crime Command from undisclosed special forces locations.
The system, known to the probe only as ITS1, allegedly contained data relevant to Operation Northmoor: a £10 million investigation set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces.
The inquiry was previously told the deletion of the server was “irreversible” and a “direct disobeyance” to the Royal Military Police’s (RMP) demands to “preserve the data in its entirety”.
RMP investigator Jim Priddin told the probe in December 2023 that special forces personnel were “sheepish” during a meeting about the computer system in 2016.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the inquiry said “terabytes” of data from the back-up drives had been seized.
It read: “In the course of the open hearings in December 2023, the inquiry received information as to the whereabouts of back-up drives of ITS1.
“The inquiry, with the independent support of the Defence Serious Crime Command, seized drives containing terabytes of ITS1 data from (special forces) locations.
“A phased, methodical and highly sophisticated approach has been taken by the inquiry team to explore technical options and allow a forensic examination of the relevant data.”
The inquiry said it would create a “forensically secure master copy” of the data and conduct an “analytical examination and review of material that is relevant” to the probe.
The independent inquiry is examining whether UK special forces had a policy of executing males of “fighting age” who posed no threat in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013.
The inquiry is also looking at whether there was an alleged cover-up of illegal activity and inadequate investigation by the RMP.
