SYDNEY, Australia — Australia will strip military awards from a group of war veterans over allegations that those under their command committed war crimes in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday.

A four-year inquiry chaired by Maj. Gen. Paul Brereton concluded in 2020 that there was credible information of the alleged unlawful killing of 39 people by or involving 25 Australian Defence Force members, as part of a culture of forcing junior recruits to kill defenseless…