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The most famous Australian soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, would be one of the many men on whom the Australian Federal Police investigated allegations of war crimes committed in Afghanistan.
A spokesman this morning confirmed that AFP was investigating "allegations of war crimes committed by Australian soldiers during the Afghan conflict."
He declined to confirm today, according to information provided by Fairfax Media, that Mr. Roberts-Smith was one of the soldiers under investigation. The former soldier denies any wrongdoing.
"As this investigation is ongoing, AFP will not confirm or deny the specific incidents or the identity of the people being investigated," he said.
He confirmed that the investigation had been opened in June after AFP had received a request to review the allegations but declined to comment further during the investigation.
Fairfax Media reports that Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell, Chief of the Defense Forces, has been informed of the investigation, as has the Inspector General of the Australian Defense Forces, who is conducting his own investigation.
The separate investigation, opened by the ADF's Inspector General in 2016, would have the purpose of investigating Mr. Roberts-Smith and a small number of other Special Forces soldiers.
The details of the AFP investigation came as Fairfax continued to fight a defamation case brought by Mr. Roberts-Smith regarding a series of reports on his actions in Afghanistan and a report on allegations of domestic violence.
Mr. Roberts-Smith denies all allegations and has been publicly supported by the director of the Australian War Memorial, Brendan Nelson, and his president, Kerry Stokes.
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