WASHINGTON — Newly published photographs purport to show U.S. troops posing with the bodies of dead insurgents in Afghanistan.
Top U.S. military and civilian officials rushed to condemn the soldiers’ actions Wednesday, calling them repugnant and a dishonor 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. The photos show 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 and mugged for photographs with the remains, the newspaper said. A photo from that incident appears to show the hand of a dead insurgent resting on a U.S. soldier’s shoulder as the soldier smiles.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says the conduct does not represent the standards of the U.S. military. Carney says the president believes the situation needs to be investigated and those responsible should be held accountable.
The Times said that 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 Ft. Bragg, N.C.
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