8 Photos the U.S. Military Never Wanted You to See

Impact

Earlier this week, TMZ released photographs of United States marines burning bodies of Iraqi insurgents and posing next to remains. The photos, which according to TMZ have prompted an official military investigation, were supposedly taken in Fallujah in 2004, and show clear violations of military code. 

TMZ said it obtained 41 photos in total and turned them all over to the military, but has only released eight to the public so far.

Military officials deny that they had any knowledge of the photos before TMZ’s release, and that if the individuals in the photos are prosecuted and convicted, they could face substantial jail time.

This is not the first time troubling photos from U.S. military in Iraq have been made public. If these photos were indeed taken in 2004, that would put them around the same time as the Abu Ghraib photographs that showed U.S. personnel abusing prisoners.

Warning: these TMZ photos are highly disturbing. They depict U.S. marines dumping gasoline on bodies, burning corpses, and posing next to the skeletal remains. 

U.S. Marines pour gasoline on the bodies of Iraqi Insurgents

Burning bodies is stricly against the Uniform Code of Military Justice

There is no statute of limitations, so the soldiers can still face prosecution.

A Marine kneels smiling next to a skull; another marine goes through the tattered clothing of a dead body.