Leaked Video Depicts U.S. Soldiers Urinating On Dead Taliban Members

The Pentagon and the USMC are facing international condemnation after the posting of a video that purportedly shows U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of alleged members of the Taliban.

"Headquarters Marine Corps has recently been made aware of a video that portrays Marines urinating on what appear to be deceased members of the Taliban," the USMC statement said. "While we 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 video surfaced on several websites early Wednesday. On one website, the member who posted the video identified the Marines as belonging to the 3/2 Marine battalion out of Camp Lejeune. The battalion served in the northern Helmand Province in Afghanistan last summer.

We'll see some payback for this, bet on it.

WARNING: The video is exactly as described. NSFW.


UPDATE: UK tabloid The Daily Mail has more.

At one point one of the men can be heard saying: 'Have a great day, buddy' to laughter from his colleagues. Another of them jokes: 'Golden like a shower' and 'Yeahhhh!' as they groan with relief whilst urinating. It is not clear if the corpses belong to civilians or insurgents engaged in combat, although the film does appear to have been shot in Afghanistan. The anonymous person who posted it included the caption: 'Scout sniper team 4 with 3rd battalion 2nd marines out of camp lejeune peeing on dead talibans.' The film is likely to spark a huge diplomatic row between Washington and Kabul and rekindle memories of the abuse meted out by American troops at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The three corpses are all male and are wearing civilian clothes. The youngest lies on his front with an overturned wheelbarrow dumped by his side. The other two are on their backs and one has a large blood stain on his chest.

The Marine Corps Times reports that an investigation to identify the soldiers has been launched.