WASHINGTON, March 21: The US army apologised publicly on Monday after German magazine Der Spiegel published photographs that showed American soldiers posing with the corpse of a civilian in Afghanistan. The magazine said it had unearthed approximately 4,000 such photos and videos but was publishing only three.

Separately, the head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, apologised for the deaths of nine Afghan boys during a military operation on Tuesday.

But Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that's was not enough.

One of the photographs in Der Spiegel shows a US soldier, Corporal Jeremy Morlock of Wasilla, grinning as he lifts the head of a corpse by the hair. The magazine identified the body as that of Gul Mohiuddin, whom Mr Morlock was charged with killing on Jan 15, 2010, in Kandahar province. Another photo shows Private1st Class Andrew Holmes holding the head of the same corpse.

Twelve American soldiers are currently on trial in Seattle for their role in the killing of three civilians and for using their corpses as trophies.

All soldiers were members of a self-styled “kill team” that operated in Afghanistan. Five soldiers are on trial for pre-meditated murder, after they staged killings to make it look like they were defending themselves from Taliban attacks. Other charges include the mutilation of corpses, the possession of images of human casualties and drug abuse.

“We apologise for the distress these photos cause,” the US army said, noting that the actions seen in the pictures were “repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the US army.”