Defense Secretary condemns four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters video

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday condemned as "utterly deplorable" a video that purports to depict four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. He said such behavior is "entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military" and those responsible will be held accountable.

Panetta said he had ordered the Marine Corps and Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, to fully investigate.


Marines urinating on dead soldiers Taliban




The Marine Corps said Wednesday it would investigate the YouTube video but had not yet verified its origin or authenticity. The case has been referred to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Navy's worldwide law enforcement arm.

The video, posted on the Internet, shows men in Marine combat gear, standing in a semi-circle over three bodies. It is not clear whether the dead were Taliban or civilians or someone else. The title on the posting called them Taliban insurgents but it was unclear who added that title, Marine Corps officials in Washington said.