Australian minister says Afghanistan report made her ill

Australia's Defence Minister Linda Reylds said she was "physically ill" after reing a shocking Australian military report into war crimes that found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians.

Reylds said report was distressing for current and former defence force personnel.

"It is, I think, distressing for everybody who has or still does wear uniform, but if you look at it or way, fact is we have faced up to this because it doesn't represent our values as a nation, it does t represent values of Australian Defence Force, and we have to tackle it, but to tackle it we have to be honest and it has to be transparent," she said during an interview in Western Australian city of Perth.

On Thursday, country's Defence Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said shameful record included alleged instances in which new patrol members would shoot a prisoner in order to achieve ir first kill in a practice kwn as "blooding."

He said soldiers would n plant weapons and rios to support false claims prisoners were enemies killed in action.

Campbell said illegal killings began in 2009, with majority occurring in 2012 and 2013. He said some members of elite Special Air Service encourd "a self-centered, warrior culture."

chief was anuncing findings of a four-year investigation by Maj. Gen. Paul Brereton, a judge and Army reservist who was asked to look into allegations and interviewed more than 400 witnesses and reviewed thousands of ps of documents.

Brereton recommended 19 soldiers be investigated by police for possible charges, including murder.

As well as 39 killings, report outlines two allegations of cruel treatment. It says that ne of alleged crimes were committed during heat of battle.

Only parts of report have been me public.

Many details, including names of alleged killers, remain redacted.

report said a total of 25 current or former troops were involved as perpetrators or accessories in 23 separate incidents, with some involved just once and a few multiple times.

It said some Australian troops would regularly carry "throw downs" — things like foreign pistols, rios and grenes that y could plant on those y killed so Afghan civilians would appear like combatants in photographs.

report said most of alleged crimes were committed and concealed at a patrol commander level by corporals and sergeants, and that while higher-level troop and squron commanders h to take some responsibility for events that happened on ir watch, y weren't primarily to blame.

report paints a picture of a toxic culture in which soldiers were competing against those from or squrons, accounts of deaths were sanitized or embellished, and many procedures to ensure safety and integrity h broken down.

report recommended 19 soldiers be referred to federal police for criminal investigation. Campbell said he's accepting all report's recommendations.