美国调查“令人不安”的伊拉克境内照片

The U.S. Defense Department says photos that purportedly show Marines burning bodies of what appear to be dead Iraqi insurgents are "disturbing."

A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said Thursday that officials must let a Marine-led probe into the photos take its course before determining their authenticity.

The U.S. Marine Corps launched its investigation on Wednesday, several days after the photos were turned over to the Pentagon by the entertainment website TMZ.com.

TMZ, which posted eight of the photos, says it was told they were taken in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah, the scene of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents 10 years ago.

In the photos, a person in what looks like a Marine uniform appears to be pouring a flammable liquid on dead insurgents.  Other photos show the bodies on fire.

U.S. defense officials say the images do not appear to constitute war crimes.  But they say the Marines possibly violated military rules that prohibit the mishandling of remains and inappropriate photos on the battlefield.