Top court backs Afghan war crimes probe

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday ruled that an investigation into the alleged war crimes committed by the US and others in the Afghan war could go ahead.

Thursday's development comes The Hague-based ICC overturned on appeal a previous decision to block the investigation, the BBC said in a report.

The actions of the Taliban, the Afghan government and US troops since May 2003 were expected to be examined.

The US is not a signatory of the ICC and does not recognise its authority over American citizens, but Afghanistan is, however, a member of the court.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has been seeking a formal investigation into the alleged crimes since 2017, said the BBC report.

A 2016 report from the ICC said there was a reasonable basis to believe that the US military had committed torture at secret detention sites in Afghanistan operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.

It also said that it was reasonable to believe the Afghan government and the Taliban had committed war crimes. IANS