© ReutersAn IKONOS satellite image of a facility near Kabul, Afghanistan
According to an ICC statement, the investigation will look into crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan since May 1, 2003, as well as any crimes linked the conflict that took place outside it since July 1, 2002. The parties under investigation will be the Taliban and another powerful Islamist group, the Haqqani Network, both of which also operate in Pakistan, as well as the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), in particular, members of the National Directorate for Security (NDS) and the Afghan National Police (ANP).
"The situation in Afghanistan has been under preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor since 2006," the statement said. "After a comprehensive and careful scrutiny of the information available to the office, applying the applicable Rome Statute legal criteria, the prosecutor has determined that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation of the situation in Afghanistan."
Comment: Great informative and entertaining video of Charles Ortels analysis of the recent November 15th IRS filing with Jason Goodman from Crowdsource the News.