Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson talk about their book Hit & Run alleging New Zealand SAS soldiers were involved in a raid on an Afghanistan village where six civillians died.

New Zealand human rights lawyers are demanding action over an SAS raid they believe killed six Afghan villagers.

It's the latest twist since authors Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson released their book Hit and Run, which has led to accusations of war crimes against the NZ Defence Force.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, lawyer Deborah Manning said she had been given instructions to act on behalf of the villagers that were allegedly injured in the raid, and the immediate family members of the deceased.

Kevin Stent/Fairfax NZ PM Bill English faces the media for the first time over the new book Hit and Run

She said she would be asking the prime minister and the attorney-general to launch a "full and independent inquiry".

READ MORE:

* Live chat: Nicky Hager on his explosive new book about an SAS raid

* Hit and Run: The six people a new book alleges a NZ SAS raid killed

* NZDF chief warns there better be 'hard evidence' for any war crime allegations

* Former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says civilian deaths in Afghanistan were 'an accident'

"Under law, an independent investigation and inquiry must occur as stage one. Following that, you look at stage two, which is accountability."

CRAIG HOYLE/FAIRFAX NZ Rodney Harrison QC, Deborah Manning and Richard McLeod at a press conference on Friday morning.

Manning claimed the villagers had not been interviewed for previous inquiries undertaken by the Afghan government.

"Their side has not been heard."

Manning practises in refugee, immigration and human rights law, and also serves as an executive member of the Refugee Council.

MONIQUE FORD/FAIRFAX NZ Hit and Run was released in Wellington on Tuesday, sparking accusations of war crimes by the NZ Defence Force.

She previously acted as a senior legal consultant to Geneva human rights group Al Karama (Dignity), which represents victims of human rights violations in the Arab region.

She said the villagers had approached Stephenson in 2016 asking for his help. He then referred them to Manning.

In her opinion, the material in Hit and Run established "credible allegations", Manning said.

HIT & RUN Three-year-old Fatima was one of six civilians killed during the SAS raid, according to the book Hit and Run.

She and her colleagues, Dr Rodney Harrison and Richard McLeod, were still in the "early stages" of the process and did not want to comment on potential lawsuits at this time.

However, the villagers had two messages for the people of New Zealand, she said.

"The villagers first of all would like to convey their thanks to the public in terms of talking about what has happened. They are very touched, in particular, that little Fatima [who allegedly died in the raid] is being acknowledged, because she was a very beloved child of the village."

The villagers were also "concerned" at comments that had been made in order to justify the attacks, she said.

"They are a simple, poor village and they have lost their dearest people for no reason."

WHAT WAS THE 'HIT AND RUN' RAID?

Hager and Stephenson's book described raids by SAS troops in Baghlan in August 2010 that they say left six civilians dead and 15 injured.

It said the raids were in response to the first combat death in 2010 when New Zealand was leading the provincial reconstruction team in Bamiyan.

The authors claimed the raid was given the green light by then-Prime Minister John Key but was based on flimsy intelligence.

It was a "dark and secret part of New Zealand's history", they said.

At the book's launch, Hager and Stephenson said US Apache helicopter gunships were involved in the raid.

They said during the raid, the military had acted against NZ values in what may have amounted to war crimes.

The elite soldiers mistakenly believed they would find the insurgents who had attacked a Kiwi patrol 19 days earlier, killing Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell, they said.

"The insurgent group wasn't there. Instead, at least 21 civilians were killed and injured – many of them women and children – and the SAS and US forces burned and blew up about a dozen houses."

Hager said the Defence Force and Government then tried to keep the whole thing secret.

"The insiders who we talked to were not happy people," he said.

"They believe that they and their colleagues were involved in things that seriously went against [what] our military and our country is supposed to stand for, which they believe amounted to serious breaches of law, and war crimes.

"Fragments of the story had reached the public over time but the vast majority of it remained secret, and had been deliberately suppressed. It was much worse than anyone knew about."

Hager said the NZDF "have never admitted nor taken responsibility for what they did".

WHO WERE THE VICTIMS?

Six civilians died in the botched raid, according to Hager and Stephenson.

They included a three-year-old girl, a father and son, two poor farmers, and a teacher visiting home.

Details of the deaths were based on interviews with villagers, a report from the Afghan government, and unnamed sources who say they were involved in the raid.

The book includes an official list of deaths from the local government that includes these names.

Stuff has been unable to independently verify the claims.

Fatima, the three-year-old girl

Two mothers and five children were injured. One of the injured mothers was holding her three-year-old child Fatima, when a piece of shrapnel hit her in the head, killing her, a local told the authors.

"Although Fatima was only three years old she was already attending school," the local told them.

"She was very beautiful and intelligent."

Abdul Faqir, a farmer

A relative of Fatima named Abdul Faqir was also in the complex, and later died from shrapnel wounds, according to the book.

He was "about 27" and a farmer. He was found with a piece of rocket lodged in his body and lived for about nine hours after the attack, locals told the authors.

Abdul Qayoom, Fatima's uncle, a farmer

Two unrelated men named Abdul Qayoom are alleged to have died.

The first Abdul, who was Fatima's uncle, was found dead with a bullet wound rather than shrapnel damage – meaning it was likely SAS snipers killed him rather than US gunships, the authors wrote.

Islamuddin, a teacher

A man named Islamuddin is also said to have died from sniper fire while fleeing his home on foot.

Islamuddin had reportedly just got home from university, where he had gained a degree in education. He was home for a two-week break while looking for teaching jobs.

Mohammed Iqbal, father of an insurgent

Mohammad Iqbal was a 55-year-old farmer whose son Naimatullah was an insurgent with the Taliban, the book claims.

Locals told the authors Iqbal did not approve of his son's activities.

​A villager who said he found his body details the scene. "He had been hit by so many bullets that one couldn't recognise him. Blood, organs, stomach, all was torn apart. His brains had come out of his head."

Abdul Qayoom, son of Iqbal

Abdul Qayoom, who was not related to the other Abdul Qayoom but was another son of Mohammad Iqbal, is also said to have been killed by Apache pilots.

DEFENCE FORCE STANDS FIRM

The NZ Defence Force said on Tuesday that it stood by its April 2011 statement, which said claims of civilian casualties were investigated and were unfounded.

However on Thursday former defence minister Wayne Mapp conceded there had been civilian casualties.

He said the deaths were "an accident", and said soldiers had not committed a war crime.

Mapp backed the initial raid, and said that the team had been attacked "from that general direction" for years, and soldiers thought they were under "mortal threat".

"The people who were killed were thought to be insurgents. They looked like a deadly threat," he said.

Mapp said he first heard about the death of a three-year-old girl in 2014 while watching a programme on Maori TV.

"I suppose that fundamentally in myself, it made me think . . . I am certain, I know in fact, it would weigh heavy on the conscience of anyone, including our soldiers.

"I mean, it was an accident. No one in the New Zealand Defence Force goes and does these things deliberately. They undertook their actions because they thought they were under attack."

NZDF said it was confident New Zealand personnel conducted themselves in accordance with applicable rules of engagement.

Hager and Stephenson have called for a full independent inquiry into the actions described in their book.