International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have said a probe indicates members of the US armed forces and the CIA may have committed war crimes by torturing detainees in Afghanistan.

Taliban militants struck the heart of the Afghan government in Kabul today, prompting fierce gun battles after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the presidential palace.

AFGHAN security forces clashed with dozens of Taliban militiamen yesterday as campaigning for the nation’s first direct presidential election opened in a crucial step in the war-ravaged nation’s troubled transition to democracy.

Afghan security forces clashed with dozens of Taliban militiamen who raided a government office in a southern province, leaving one soldier and four of the rebel fighters dead, officials said today.