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Inquiry into Afghan shooting needed: Milne

Greens leader Christine Milne has called for an independent investigation into the shooting of an Afghan detainee by Australia special forces officers.

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(File: AAP)

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Source: AAP


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The Greens are calling for an independent investigation into the shooting of an Afghan detainee by Australian soldiers, which could show the defence force chief misled a Senate estimates hearing.

Defence force chief Major General David Hurley originally told the Senate the man's death was combat-related but an internal ADF report, obtained by the ABC under freedom of information laws, reveals the man was shot in the chest while handcuffed in detention.

Greens leader Christine Milne has called for an urgent investigation into the case following the airing of the report details on Friday evening.

"The Australian public must be able to have confidence in the actions of Australian Defence Forces overseas," she said in a statement.

The ABC report also highlighted "major issues" with the investigation into the shooting, she added.

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"Investigation of the incident was prompted only following media inquiries. As a result key witnesses were unable to be located and the investigation was impeded due to the amount of time that had passed," she said.

"Defence force chief Major General Hurley may have provided incorrect information to a Senate estimates hearing that questioned him on the matter."

The shooting happened in October 2010, while special forces and Afghan troops were searching a village in northern Kandahar, the ABC reports.

Thirty men were corralled into a home and questioned, but only 29 made it out alive.

In late May 2012, Major General Hurley was called before the Senate to explain the day after the story broke in the News Corp. Australia papers following leaks from within the military.

"The insurgent killed was a combat-related death," he told the Senate at the time.


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