Washington, Aug 24 (DPA) US President Barack Obama has authorised the formation of an elite interrogation team to handle top terrorism suspects, the Washington Post reported on its website Monday, citing senior administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

The group would be based at the FBI, the chief domestic law enforcement agency. However, the Post reported, the interrogation team would operate under the oversight of the White House-based National Security Council, which reports directly to the president.

The composition of the team would include officers from a variety of federal agencies involved with both law enforcement and intelligence.

The reported decision is part of an ongoing review and major overhaul of policies to handle terrorist suspects capture on both military battlefields, such as Afghanistan, and around the world.

Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, has come under fire for detention and interrogation policies and practices that may have broken the law, been abuse or ineffective.