Washington is facing international condemnation after imposing sanctions on top International Criminal Court officials over the tribunal’s probe into alleged war crimes by US troops and others in Afghanistan.

The action constituted an attack on the rule of law and an interference with efforts to prosecute “grave crimes of concern to the international community”, the 123-country Hague-based tribunal said late on Wednesday night.  

Washington announced earlier on Wednesday that it had imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and a member of her office. The move escalates a US campaign against the court over its investigation into crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan by American forces, as well as Taliban fighters and Afghan national troops.