In this Nov 7, 2019 file image the International Criminal Court, or ICC, is seen in The Hague, Netherlands. Judges are set to deliver their decision March 5 2020, on an appeal by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court against a decision rejecting an investigation into atrocities committed by all sides in the Afghanistan conflict, including US forces. (PETER DEJONG / AP)

THE HAGUE - Judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday ruled that an investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan by the Taliban, Afghan military and US forces may proceed.

The decision, which comes days after the United States agreed to pull its troops from the long-running conflict, overturns a lower court decision and opens the way for prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to launch a full investigation, despite US government opposition.

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The decision overturns a lower court decision and opens the way for prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to launch a full investigation, despite US government opposition

Afghanistan is a member of the Hague-based court, though the United States is not and US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed travel restrictions and other sanctions against ICC employees a year ago.

A pretrial panel last year had rejected Bensouda’s 2017 request to open an investigation, arguing that the odds of success were low, given the passage of time, a lack of cooperation from Kabul and Washington, and because it would not “serve the interests of justice.”

But Hofmanski said Bensouda should proceed and not limit her investigation to preliminary findings, as that would “erroneously inhibit the prosecution’s truth-seeking function.”

Bensouda believes there are grounds to open an investigation into abuses committed between 2003 and 2014, including alleged mass killings of civilians by the Taliban, as well as the alleged torture of prisoners by Afghan authorities and to a lesser extent by US forces and the CIA.

US forces and other foreign troops entered Afghanistan in 2001 after the Sept 11 al Qaeda attacks on the United States and overthrew the Taliban government, which had been protecting al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

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The United States and the Taliban signed an agreement on Saturday to withdraw thousands of US troops still in the country, but Washington carried out an air strike on Taliban fighters on Wednesday.

The ICC, which began operations in The Hague in 2002, is a court of last resort for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when committed by nationals of a signatory state, or if they took place on the territory of one of its member states.