This article examines state crime in the area of the use of irregulars in counter-insurgency. Irregulars are defined as local units who receive rudimentary training and act alongside more regular forces. They are also defined as more regular formal local units who act informally (and often unlawfully) as part of their counter-insurgency role (e.g. death squads). The article examines the important role that such irregulars have played in counter-insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan and highlights the human rights violations that their use has encouraged. This area is an important area for future research.
Quantrill's Raiders were an irregular Confederate unit that massacred civilians and unarmed Union soldiers during the American Civil war (see Fellman 2010: 65).
Elements of the Mahdi Army were also permitted to join after declaring a truce in 2004.
“Afghan Local Police forces are drawn from the communities they protect in a way that balances tribal affiliations and village clusters, preventing one group from dominating others” ( Green 2013).