Iraqi Death Scene Pics of Marines Burning Bodies Trigger U.S. Military Investigation [PHOTOS] 
 
 Pics of Marines Burning Bodies Trigger U.S. Military Investigation [PHOTOS] 
 
 EXCLUSIVE 
 
 The United States military is conducting a formal investigation into American soldiers burning the dead bodies of what appear to be Iraqi insurgents.TMZ obtained 41 pictures that we're told were shot in Fallujah in 2004. You then see charred remains.Another photo shows a Marine crouched down next to a dead body and mugging for the camera.Still another pic shows a Marine rifling through the pocket of the pants on a corpse.We have not included all of the photos. "Many are just too gruesome." of Defense, tells TMZ ... the pictures appear to show U.S. soldiers in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice ... which makes it a crime to mishandle remains.There is no statute of limitations on the crime -- even if the soldiers are now private citizens ... they can still be prosecuted, which could land them behind bars.Col.
– TMZ is venturing well off the Justin Bieber beat with a potentially serious story about the behavior of Marines during the Iraq war. The site has published eight grisly photos that it says show US troops burning the corpses of Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah in 2004, rifling through pockets, and mugging for the camera. It turned over the full set of 41 photos to the US military last week, and a Pentagon spokesman says an investigation is under way, first to determine the veracity of the images and then to possibly identify any of the Marines. If true, the behavior would violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice on the handling of bodies. "We have no details beyond the photos themselves," a Pentagon spokesperson tells the Wire. In a fuller statement, the spokesperson says "the actions depicted in these photos are not what we expect from our service members." Charges could still be filed, even if any of the Marines are no longer in the military. You can see the images at TMZ, but, be warned, they are graphic. (The development comes as Fallujah continues to fall under the sway of al-Qaeda.)