Nineteen special forces soldiers should be referred to the Federal Police to be prosecuted for war crimes including murder for the death of 39 Afghan prisoners or civilians and the mistreatment of two prisoners, an explosive inquiry into Australia’s elite military fighting units has found.

In what he labelled a "disgraceful and profound betrayal" of professional standards, Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Paul Brereton squarely laid the blame on a clique of non-commissioned officers who demanded junior soldiers "blood" themselves by killing unarmed prisoners, planted weapons to cover up their crimes and misled their superiors.