Judges say Afghanistan war crimes probe can proceed
Judges at the International Criminal Court say an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan can go ahead despite U.S. opposition.
Thursday's (March 5) ruling, which overturns a lower-court decision, will allow prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to probe alleged crimes by the Taliban, Afghan forces and U.S. forces.
It comes days after the United States agreed to pull its troops out of Afghanistan under a deal signed with the Taliban on Saturday (February 29).
A pretrial panel rejected Bensouda's 2017 request to open a probe last year, saying it would not 'serve the interests of justice'.
Arguing the passage of time and a lack of cooperation from Kabul and Washington meant the odds of success were low.
That was a mistake, the presiding judge said, since Bensouda's work so far has found reasonable grounds to believe war crimes have been committed.
The abuses she wants to investigate happened between 2003 and 2014.
They include the mass killings of civilians by the Taliban, and the alleged torture of prisoners by Afghan authorities, and to a lesser extent by U.S. forces and the CIA.
U.S. and allied forces entered Afghanistan in 2001 after the September 11 al Qaeda attacks.
It has become the United States' longest war.
