US Marines Allegedly Urinating on Taliban Fighters Sparks Outrage (VIDEO)

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, January 12, 2012

A new video has emerged allegedly showing U.S. Marines urinating on dead Taliban bodies in Afghanistan.

The video, posted on YouTube, shows four men in uniform standing over bloodied Taliban corpses and reportedly urinating on the dead bodies. The video captions says that the men are part of "Scout Sniper Team 4 with the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines out of Camp Lejeune."

The shocking video, if proven to be authentic, violates the laws of war and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has described the acts as “completely inhumane” and called upon the U.S. government to punish the offenders.

“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is demanding the investigation and punishment for the soldiers from the U.S. government regarding this film as soon as possible,” a statement released by the Afghan presidential palace read.

It is unclear who shot and posted the video footage online and the Marine Corps is investigating the authenticity of the video.

However, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) has suggested that the video is indeed real in a statement released over the video, saying that it appears to be “conducted by a small group of U.S. individuals” and calling the actions dishonorable.

The ISAF statement did not identify the men in uniform, but did say that it appears that the men are no longer serving in Afghanistan. If authentic, those involved could be court marshaled for violating military rules.

“Regardless of the circumstances or who is in the video, this is egregious, disgusting behavior, unacceptable for anyone in uniform,” the Pentagon said in a statement regarding the footage.

Experts and Afghan civilians both are expressing concern that the video could cause an even further rift in peace negotiations with the Taliban.

“It will harm the peace talks, it seems the U.S. never wants peace talks to happen in Afghanistan. This action will increase misery in the country,” one Afghan civilian told the BBC news.

However, a spokesman from the Taliban said that the disturbing video would not hamper peace talks with international forces and the Karzai government.

To view a video containing still images of the footage please click below.