SENIOR investigators have travelled to Afghanistan to interview witnesses as part of an inquiry into potential war crimes by Australian special forces.

They are probing “allegations and rumours of misconduct” by Australian special forces during the 18-year long war in Afghanistan.

New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court justice Paul Brereton and a team flew into the Afghan capital Kabul to conduct the interviews on behalf of the inspector-general of the Australian Defence Forces.

Investigations began in 2016 after rumours had been circulating in the special forces community and the Australian Defence Forces of alleged war crimes.

Included in the investigations is an alleged incident in a small village called Darwan in Uruzgan province.

Three Afghan men were killed there by Australian SAS soldiers on September 11 2012 during a search for an Afghan Army Sergeant known as Hekmatullah.

He had been accused of shooting dead three Australian soldiers at an army patrol base two weeks previously.

Harrowing testimony from loved ones of the three Afghan men killed by Australian forces was published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as part of its Afghan Files investigations.

Relatives described two of the men being taken into a room where almonds were stored and hearing gunshots.

They were found dead and soldiers claimed the pair were armed to justify the shootings.

But those present insisted the men were unarmed and were under detention at the time they were killed.

Australian special forces claimed the pair were linked to the Taliban and had sheltered Hekmatullah, which they denied.

Another man was allegedly shot while handcuffed with his arms behind his back and then thrown off a wall.

In what was widely condemned as an attack on press freedom, ABC offices were raided by Australia’s Federal Police (AFP) regarding the reports which were published in 2017 as part of the Afghan Files series.

The AFP said it was investigating “allegations of publishing classified material, contrary to provisions of the Crimes Act” after the stories were referred for investigation by the defence force chief the day after the ABC published them in July 2017.

Australia’s journalists’ union denounced the raids as an attempt to “intimidate” journalism.

Critics have raised concerns over the length of time taken for the investigation and the lack of transparency.

But the recent interviews of Afghan witnesses point to the inquiry not relying solely on testimony from the Australian armed forces.

Australia’s Defence Ministry said it would not be appropriate to comment with the inquiry ongoing.