OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. Army says photos showing American soldiers posing with dead Afghans are "in striking contrast" to its standards and values.
The Army issued a statement Monday apologizing for any distress caused by the images that Rolling Stone magazine posted on its website over the weekend.
The magazine says the photos are linked to an ongoing war crimes probe involving members of the 5th Stryker Brigade, based south of Seattle. Five soldiers from the platoon have been charged with murder and conspiracy in deaths of three unarmed Afghan civilians last year.
Two photos show soldiers alongside a dead Afghan youth, lifting the corpse's head by its hair.
The military judge in the case had issued a protective order seeking to limit access to the photographs. Three of them were published last week by a German news magazine.
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