Recently, yet another war crime of the US Military forces came to light and became global headlines receiving condemnation all around. Of the many unilateral wars the US is engaged in, Iraq war is again in the limelight due to the images, obtained by TMZ, that show the US Elite force of Marines mishandling the remains of Iraqi insurgents slain in  Fallujah in 2004. With the pictures published by TMZ, the US Government has initiated a military investigation of the actions of the Marines. The pictures clearly depict US Marines in absolute violation of military code that makes it imperative for service members to handle remains in  accordance with Islamic customs and also prohibits them from posing in photos of dead bodies.

The exact number of pictures acquired by TMZ is not know however, as per TMZ, they have released only 41 of the many they acquired.

A Marine poses with human remains in one of the 41 photos obtained by TMZ.

A Marine seems to pours gasoline on a dead body despite military code that bars  service from appearing in photos with corpses.

A body, believed to be of an insurgent, burns in one of the photos. Military  code requires soldiers to handle remains of the enemy in accordance with Islamic  tradition.

A soldier appears to be searching  through the pockets of a dead body.

Another Marine seen dousing the dead body of an Iraqi in gasoline to burn is subsequently

A dead body set aflame by a Marine in Iraq in 2004

There is no statute of limitations on the crimes, so the Marines could still  face charges regardless of whether they have been discharged from the  military.

The photographs the gossip site chose not to publish were even more  gruesome, including shots depicting well over a dozen bodies and one that shows  a dog eating a corpse.

"We are currently investigating to determine the veracity of the photos,  what the circumstances depicted in them are, and if possible, the identities of  the service members involved," Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Ty Balzer said. "The  results of that will determine whether we are able to move forward with any  investigation into possible wrongdoing."

The city was the site of the most fierce fighting of the wars in Iraq and  Afghanistan. Nearly 100 Marines and soldiers were killed routing insurgents from  the city in 2004.

The New York Times reported last week that the recent  fall of Fallujah had prompted much soul-searching among Marines who feared their  sacrifice had been for naught.

Warren suspected the timing of the new gruesome images was not  coincidental.

“I don’t know who sent these photos to TMZ. But they presumably sent them  because Fallujah has been in the news recently,” he said.

In 2005 report, U.S. soldiers in Gumbad,  Afghanistan were investigated for burning the bodies of two enemy fighters. 

The men argued they set alight the corpses  for hygienic reasons, after local citizens had not retrieved the bodies after 24  hours.

A report concluded that the action indicated  poor judgement but was not a war crime.

It stated:

'Based on the criminal  investigation, there was no evidence to substantiate the allegation of  desecration or any violation of the Law of War. However, there was evidence of  poor decision-making and judgment, poor reporting and lack of knowledge and  respect for local Afghan customs and tradition.'

SOURCE: NY DAILY NEWS & DAILY MAIL