US probes video of soldiers urinating on Taliban corpses

Washington, Jan 12 (ANI): The US military has launched an investigation into an online video that shows American Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters.

A 39-second video posted on YouTube showed four men in combat fatigues laughing and joking as they apparently relieve themselves over three corpses that lie at their feet.

After seemingly checking to be sure no one is watching they unbutton their uniforms and urinate on the bloody bodies, with one soldier telling a dead man, "Have a great day, buddy."

A fifth person films the scene with a hand-held camera from a few feet away, shifting their position at one point to get a better view of one of the dead men's faces, The Telegraph reports.

The footage was posted on Tuesday by an online user named 'semperfiLoneVoice', a reference to the Marine Corps' motto "semper fidelis", which means "always faithful" in Latin.

A spokesman for the Marine Corps said that they have not yet verified the origin or authenticity of this video.

"The actions portrayed are not consistent with our core values and are not indicative of the character of the Marines in our Corps," the spokesman said.

"This matter will be fully investigated and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions," he added.

A caption written by semperfiLoneVoice claimed that the men were members of a scout sniper team from the Third Battalion of the Second Marine Regiment, a unit of around 800 troops based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (ANI)