{
  "id": 19904446,
  "title": "ICC closes original Afghanistan war crimes investigation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/icc-closes-original-afghanistan-war-crimes-investigation",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T02:18:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/11/1577263/icc-closes-original-afghanistan-war-crimes-investigation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The International Criminal Court (ICC) has officially closed its original investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, according to a recent court document. This decision was made by the court's judges after they determined that the prosecution could not effectively carry out any further investigative or prosecutorial activities in the original Afghanistan investigation. The closure applies to allegations against US troops, as well as crimes committed by the Taliban since August 2021. The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. The ICC had been authorized to investigate alleged crimes in Afghanistan from May 1, 2003, and in other ICC member states from July 1, 2002. However, the prosecution only submitted a limited number of applications under Article 58, all related to the separate Situation in Afghanistan II, or alleged crimes in Afghanistan since August 2021. The decision to close the original investigation also impacts the line of inquiry into alleged crimes committed by ISIS-K since 2016, which will now be pursued separately.",
  "summary": "ISTANBUL: Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ordered the formal closure of the court’s original investigation into alleged crimes in Afghanistan, which included allegations against US troops, Anadolu Ajansi reported.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "International Criminal Court limits Afghanistan investigation to Taliban crimes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/international-criminal-court-limits-afghanistan-investigation-to",
        "published": "2026-11-13T17:37:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}