WASHINGTON, Aug 27: The US military said on Monday it was disciplining soldiers over two incidents that provoked outrage in Afghanistan early this year, one involving a video depicting Marines defiling corpses and another over burned copies of the holy Quran.

The military said the punishments were administrative, which could include actions such as a reprimand, reduction in rank or forfeiture of pay. Neither incident so far has resulted in criminal charges, however, something that may fail to satisfy Afghan demands for justice.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai branded the Marine’s actions in the video as “inhuman” and he initially called for a public trial for the soldiers over the Quran incident.

The Marine Corps announced three Marines had pleaded guilty to charges over the video.

The identities of the Marines were not disclosed and disciplinary action against other Marines would be announced at a later date, the Marine Corps said.

The video, which became public in January after the images were posted on the internet, actually took place on or around July 27 last year during a counter-insurgency operation in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, the Marines said, describing findings of the investigation.—Reuters