The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said that a full investigation into potential war crimes committed in Afghanistan is likely.<br /><br /> In a preliminary report published on Monday, Fatou Bensouda said that she had a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes, including torture, had been committed.<br /><br /> As a result of its examination, the Court has identified, at a minimum, the following crimes:<br /><br /> a. Crimes against humanity and war crimes by the Taliban and their affiliated Haqqani Network;<br /><br /> b. War crimes of torture and related ill-treatment by Afghan government forces, in particular the intelligence agency (National Directorate for Security), and the Afghan National Police; and<br /><br /> c. War crimes of torture and related ill-treatment, by US military forces deployed to Afghanistan and in secret detention facilities operated by the Central Intelligence Agency.<br /><br /> The possible charges relate to the period between 2003 and 2004, although allegedly continuing in some cases until 2014.<br /><br /> The US is not a member of the court but can face prosecution for crimes committed within the jurisdiction of a country that is a member, as is the case for Afghanistan.<br /><br /> NEW: ICC prosecutor's report: “Reasonable basis to believe” war crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan + extending to secret sites. pic.twitter.com/BD4UxqgKHk— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) November 14, 2016<br /> <br /><br /> Any final decision on the investigation would have to be approved by judges.<br /><br /> The US is thought to be unlikely to cooperate with the International Criminal Court. In a speech during his election campaign, President Elect Donald Trump praised the use of waterboarding, saying that the US had to ‘fight fire with fire’.<br />
