The Australian military said today it would launch an investigation after video images displayed on the Internet appeared to show some of its soldiers in Iraq mishandling weapons and acting in a "culturally insensitive" way.
Among the 14 images, shot by soldiers between 2003 and 2005, was one showing an Australian soldier pointing his gun at the head of a man kneeling on the floor and wearing Arab-style clothing, according to TV pictures.
The TV reports said the kneeling man appeared to be another Australian soldier.
"The behaviour in these few images displays cultural insensitivity, a disregard for operational security and inappropriate handling of weapons and is not condoned or sanctioned by Defence in any way," the Defence Department said in a statement on its website .
"There is no place in the ADF for members who behave in this way. It shows a disregard for the high standards our people maintain," the statement quoted chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, as saying.
The Australian videos showed no abuse of Iraqis. Photographs and images of soldiers from the United States and Britain misteating Iraqis since the Iraq war began in 2003 have embarrassed the two governments and led to the court-martialling of several soldiers.
The circulation of the Australian videos comes as the country's defence authorities investigate the death in April of 25-year-old Private Jake Kovco in Baghdad.
Kovco was shot in the head with his own pistol at his barracks. The army has said he committed suicide, but has come under fire for the way it handled the investigation.
The soldier's relatives have accused the military of a cover-up.