Britain’s military said on Friday that it was investigating photographs that appear to show a British serviceman in Afghanistan posing beside a dead Taliban fighter.
The pictures were allegedly taken in the aftermath of a 2012 attack by the Taliban on Camp Bastion, the main British base in Afghanistan.
The images first appeared on LiveLeak.com, a Web site sometimes used by servicemen of many countries to post photographs of incidents during tours of duty.
The British Broadcasting Corp reported that two members of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Regiment — a ground-fighting force — have been withdrawn from frontline duties while the incident is investigated.
Two US marines were killed and a number of British soldiers were injured in the attack on Camp Bastion in September 2012.
The photographs appear to show at least one member of the RAF giving a thumbs-up sign as he kneels next to the body of a dead insurgent.
It is unclear if it is the same serviceman in both of the photographs.
Another photograph shows a burned-out plane in a hangar — six US Harriet jets were destroyed in the attack.
An RAF spokeswoman said: “Inappropriate actions will not be tolerated in the armed forces. The RAF is treating this incident extremely seriously and has launched a military police investigation... As this incident is subject to an ongoing investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
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