US troops under fire over photos

Washington In another embarrassment to the Pentagon, newly published photographs purport to show US troops posing with the bodies of dead insurgents in Afghanistan.

Top US military and civilian officials rushed to condemn the soldiers' actions yesterday, calling them repugnant and a dishonour to others who have served in the conflict. The Army said an investigation is under way.

The photos were published in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times.

It said one of the photos shows members of the 82nd Airborne Division posing in 2010 with Afghan police and the severed legs of a suicide bomber.

The same platoon a few months later was sent to investigate the remains of three insurgents reported to have accidentally blown themselves up — and soldiers again posed for photographs with the remains, the newspaper said.

Hand of deceased on soldier's shoulder

A photo from that incident appears to show the hand of a dead insurgent resting on a US soldier's shoulder as the soldier smiles.

The photos are the latest in a series of blows to the US military's image in Afghanistan. In January, US Marines were found to have made a video of them urinating on Afghan corpses. In February, what the military said was the accidental burning of copies of the Quran triggered violent protests and revenge killings of six Americans.

And last month, a US soldier left his base and allegedly killed 17 civilian villagers, mainly women and children.

Soldier provided newspaper with photos

The Times said a soldier provided the newspaper with a series of 18 photos of soldiers posing with corpses. The soldier served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne's 4th Brigade Combat Team from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and said the photos point to a breakdown in leadership and discipline.

Even before the photos were published, Pentagon press secretary George Little said Defence Secretary Leon Panetta "rejects the conduct depicted in these two-year-old photographs".

"Anyone found responsible for this inhuman conduct will be held accountable in accordance with our military justice system," Little said.

The US commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, US Marine General John Allen, also criticised the troops. He said there is a strict policy for the handling of enemy remains and it dictates they be processed as humanely as possible.

‘Core values'

A statement by US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker also condemned the behaviour.

"Such actions are morally repugnant, dishonour the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of US soldiers and civilians who have served with distinction in Afghanistan, and do not represent the core values of the United States or our military," Crocker said.

Little said the military had asked the Los Angeles Times not to publish the photographs. "The danger is that this material could be used by the enemy to incite violence against US and Afghan service members in Afghanistan," he said.