DHAKA: An initial investigation into claims that UK forces abused Iraqi detainees is to be opened by the International Criminal Court.

The preliminary examination will analyse alleged crimes attributed to UK armed forces deployed in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve said the government completely rejected allegations of abuse.

This will be the first time the UK has been the subject of an ICC probe.

The head of the military prosecution body in the UK, Andrew Cayley, said it would co-operate.

But he said he believed it was unlikely that the ICC would push for a full, formal investigation, as the British government was already investigating claims of abuse in Iraq.

The decision by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to reopen the investigation, which was previously concluded in 2006, comes after a group of public interest and human rights lawyers submitted a dossier of new information in January.

The dossier contained evidence of what the group said was more than 400 cases of mistreatment or unlawful killings, reports the BBC.

BDST: 2147 HRS, MAY 13, 2014