The Observer has reported that thousands of Afghan Special Forces, known as the “Triples,” who were trained by the United Kingdom and fought alongside British Special Forces, have been denied resettlement in Britain following the fall of Afghanistan.
The newspaper reported on Monday night, February 2, 2026, that these special forces included Units 333 and 444, which for years had operated with British support and training.
According to the report, after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the British government launched the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) to transfer its Afghan partners. However, in the initial phase, nearly all of the more than 2,000 applications submitted by members of these units were rejected.
The Observer reported that during the initial review process, a single British special forces officer rejected 1,585 applications from Afghan Special Forces members, effectively placing the decision over acceptance or rejection of the cases in the hands of the special forces themselves.
The report states that some Afghan special forces were present alongside British special forces during night operations in Afghanistan and may have witnessed instances of human rights violations and war crimes, an issue now being examined under the UK’s ongoing “Afghanistan Inquiry.”
The newspaper added that, following a review of the decisions, more than 30 percent of the previously rejected applications by the Afghan Special Forces have been overturned so far, and many more cases are expected to be reconsidered.
According to the report, the UK Ministry of Defence has said that special forces personnel can provide testimony to the Afghanistan Inquiry from anywhere in the world. Critics, however, stress that many of these individuals are currently in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where they face serious security threats.
The report further notes that critics have described the British government’s treatment of Afghan Special Forces as a “breach of moral obligation” toward its Afghan comrades and have called for full transparency in the handling of these cases.
