PHOTOS OF WHAT appears to be US Marines burning bodies appeared on the American entertainment website TMZ yesterday.

The US military is now investigating the images that are believed to be Marines burning dead Iraqi insurgents.

The pictures are said to have been taken in Fallajah in Iraq in 2004. The website said that they obtained 41 pictures adding:

We have not included all of the photos. Many are just too gruesome.

The website released eight photos. Two show a Marine pouring gasoline or some flammable liquid on the remains of two bodies, while two other photos show the bodies on fire. There are also two images the charred remains after the flames went out.

Another photo is of a Marine posing with his rifle pointing at a human skull and the final photo shows a Marine rifling through the clothes on a corpse.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Bill Speaks said:

The actions depicted in these photos are not what we expect from our service members, nor do they represent the honorable and professional service of the more than 2.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

TMZ said that over a dozen bodies were shown in the 41 photos they received and that “some are covered with flies and one is being eaten by a dog.”

The entertainment website said they turned over all the photos to the Pentagon last week.

Director of Press Operations for the Department of Justice, Steve Warren, told TMZ:

There is no statute of limitations on the crime … even if the soldiers are now private citizens … they can still be prosecuted, which could land them behind bars.

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