IFP Coverage- In a report covered by Iran�s Ettela�at newspaper, The Hague prosecutors said there was a �reasonable basis to believe� that US forces had tortured prisoners in Afghanistan and at Central Intelligence Agency detention facilities elsewhere in 2003 and 2004.

�Members of US armed forces appear to have subjected at least 61 detained persons to torture,� the prosecutors� office, wrote. It added that CIA officials appeared to have tortured another 27 detainees.

The prosecutors� office said it would decide imminently whether to pursue a full investigation.

The results of a full investigation could potentially lead to charges being brought against individuals and the issuing of an arrest warrant. The ICC is a court of last resort, however, meaning it could only bring charges if domestic authorities were not dealing adequately with allegations.

Monday�s finding marks a significant step forward in the court�s decade-old examination of conflicts in Afghanistan and could draw a sharp response from a U.S. administration that is set to become less internationalist under President-elect Donald Trump.

�These alleged crimes were not the abuses of a few isolated individuals,� the report said. �They appear to have been committed as part of approved interrogation techniques in an attempt to extract �actionable intelligence.'�