An internet video that appeared to show a group of U.S. Marine urinating on the corpses of Taliban militants has provoked widespread revulsion in Afghanistan and the United States.

The online footage showed four U.S. Marine men urinating on the bloodied bodies of three men dressed in Afghan clothing.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday condemned the reported desecrating of Taliban corpses in a statement released by his office in Kabul.

"This is a deplorable act. Presidential Palace strongly condemns it and calling on the United States to initiate probe into the case and punish those responsible for the desecration," the statement said.

Taliban militants have also denounced the reported incident and the U.S. Marine Corps said Wednesday it is investigating the video.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta denounced the video as "utterly deplorable" and called Karzai to assure him that the incident would be thoroughly investigated, according to the Washington Post.

"I wanted him to know how grieved we were at what happened here," Panetta said in an interview while traveling to Fort Bliss, Tex. "What I want is an investigation into what happened here, what laws were violated by what took place, who these individuals were."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday also denounced the videoed abuse, saying the perpetrators must be held "fully accountable."

It remained unclear who shot the video and posted it on the internet.

Related

• US marines investigate 'desecration video'
• Afghan forces kill 10 Taliban insurgents, detain 40
• Taliban key commander detained in S. Afghanistan
• Karzai welcomes Taliban's decision to open liaison office
• Taliban to set up office in Qatar

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