International Criminal Court closes the Afghanistan war crimes case that could have reached U.S. troops; Taliban case goes on
Judges said prosecutors had not shown they could do more in the 2020 investigation. Arrest warrants for Taliban leaders stay in force.
Judges at the International Criminal Court have closed the court’s original Afghanistan investigation, which was authorized in 2020 to look at alleged war crimes by U.S. armed forces and the CIA as well as the Taliban and other groups, according to a decision dated Nov. 12.
The three-judge panel in The Hague, Netherlands, said prosecutors had “not shown to be able to effectively carry out any further investigative or prosecutorial activities” in that case. The court’s appeals judges authorized the inquiry in March 2020, covering crimes since May 2003.
Taliban case continues
Prosecutors’ work on the Taliban’s treatment of women, girls and others since the group retook power in August 2021 now sits in a separate case, called Afghanistan II, the judges said. Arrest warrants issued in 2025 for four Taliban figures, including supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, were moved there and remain in force.
Prosecutors could ask to reopen a line of inquiry into the Islamic State’s Afghan branch if they can pursue it, the decision says. On Nov. 11, the prosecutor’s office appealed the order moving the warrants to the new case.
Source: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II decision, Nov. 12, 2026; ICC Office of the Prosecutor notice of appeal, Nov. 11, 2026.
- International Criminal Court, Pre-Trial Chamber II: Public redacted version of ‘Decision closing the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,’ ICC-02/17-253-Red, Nov. 12, 2026
- International Criminal Court, Office of the Prosecutor: Prosecution notice of appeal, and request for suspensive effect, of ‘Order to transfer court records to the Situation in Afghanistan II,’ ICC-02/17-252, Nov. 11, 2026
- International Criminal Court: Afghanistan: ICC Appeals Chamber authorises the opening of an investigation, March 5, 2020
- International Criminal Court: Situation in Afghanistan: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II issues arrest warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, July 8, 2025
- ICC Appeals Chamber: Judgment on the appeal against the decision on the authorisation of an investigation into the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ICC-02/17-138, March 5, 2020 (scope includes U.S. armed forces and the CIA)