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Sky News can reveal that dozens of soldiers who served in two Afghan special forces units that were set up, trained and paid by the British have since been murdered or tortured by the Taliban.
Michael Drummond
Foreign news reporter @MikeRDrummond
"I feel betrayed by the British."
Once part of an elite Afghan special forces unit, Shaheen and his two brothers spent years fighting side-by-side with UK commandos.
But when Kabul fell to the Taliban in the chaos of August 2021, so many of his comrades were left behind. His brother Qahraman was hunted down and murdered.
"We were like one family," he says. "I cannot bear to hear about my colleagues hiding now in Afghanistan, their lives in danger."
Sky News can reveal that dozens of soldiers who served in two Afghan special forces units that were set up, trained and paid for by the British have since been murdered or tortured by the Taliban.
Working with Lighthouse Reports and The Independent, Sky News has verified dozens of cases in which the Taliban has targeted and physically harmed these former commandos who risked their lives alongside the British.
Members of the Triples with British veteran Charlie Herbert
Shaheen told Sky News how for years he and his two brothers were part of Commando Force 333 (CF333), an Afghan special forces unit established by the British in 2002.
His name and the name of his brother have been changed in this story for his family's protection.
In the mid-2000s, there were still pockets of Taliban fighters dotted around Afghanistan, despite their regime being toppled by the coalition of international forces, including the US and UK.
Known as the Triples, CF333 and fellow unit ATF444 embarked on joint missions with the British to battle the remaining Taliban - and received salaries from the British government for doing so, it can be revealed for the first time.
The camp where they and British commandos were based became a home for Shaheen and his brothers, he tells Sky News.
They took pride in their work and were involved in special operations around Afghanistan, putting themselves in danger for their country.
"Although they were younger than me, my brothers and I were so close that we were friends," Shaheen says.