Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan killed and detained Afghan civilians mistakenly believed to be insurgent leaders and bomb-makers, the ABC Four Corners program alleges.
It also claims the death of tribal elder Rozi Khan, shot dead by Australian Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) soldiers in 2008, may have stemmed from false information provided by his rivals, Jan Mohammed Khan, former governor of Oruzgan province, and his nephew Matiullah Khan, now the province's police chief.
The ABC Four Corners program examines the involvement of Australian special forces in the long-running "kill capture" program that aims to eliminate insurgent leaders, facilitators and especially those who make the deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
But despite a rigorous process of gathering and assessing intelligence, there are blunders, such as occurred in April 2009 when SOTG soldiers raided a residential compound in the belief that a Taliban leader was present.
Three civilians were killed, with eight detained and subsequently released.
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The Australian Defence Force (ADF) subsequently admitted its error, although it said the soldiers acted in self-defence.
Michael Semple, a Harvard University expert on Afghan politics, says on the program there were some genuine mistakes, but also people seeking to manipulate coalition and Australian forces to eliminate tribal rivals.
That may have occurred with the death of Rozi Khan, a coalition ally whose death led to the rise of Matiullah Khan, now the new Oruzgan strongman.
A Defence board of inquiry concluded he was most probably killed by Australian troops during a confused gun battle in which locals believed they were under Taliban attack and fired on the SOTG patrol, which fired back in the belief they were being attacked by insurgents.
The "kill capture" program remains contentious.
Mr Semple says as far as he could tell, every insurgent commander killed in Oruzgan was a local commander only and all had been rapidly replaced.
"The national-level leadership remains intact despite this program of kill-capture," he says.
Australian counter-terrorism expert David Kilcullen says victory could not be achieved militarily.
"It's not about killing or capturing your way to victory, it's about creating conditions for a negotiated settlement at this point," he says in the program.
Defence has made no secret of its role, routinely releasing media statements acknowledging the death or capture of insurgent leaders in operations by SOTG soldiers and their Afghan counterparts.
In a briefing to journalists in July, SOTG commander Lieutenant Colonel "G" said removing key insurgent leaders and disrupting their ability to coordinate attacks against coalition partners was absolutely necessary.
"We know these insurgent leaders are coordinating and supplying fighters with weapons, funds and the lethal IEDs that are indiscriminately killing and maiming local civilians and coalition forces alike," he said.
"I can tell you from high levels of intelligence that there is a level of frustration amongst the insurgents at how successful our operations are have been."
