Britain Arrests Seven Marines Over Afghan Murder

Defense Ministry Won't Release Any Specifics on Case

British military police have arrested seven Royal Marines today in connection with the 2011 murder of an Afghan “insurgent.” Officials with the Defense Ministry said the arrest proved their determination to act in accordance with the rules of engagement.

Exactly what happened in the case is unclear, as the Defense Ministry has also said that it will not release any details about the case nor any future information about the results of the arrests and any potential trials that may happen.

Instead, the Defense Ministry would only promise to conduct an internal review of the situation “to identify the lessons learned.” The investigation will be handled by the Service Justice System.

Britain has kept their exact rules of engagement a secret, claiming they don’t want the enemy fighters to know what they might do, and in the past arrests related to overseas killings have rarely amounted to any serious charges.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.