On November 26, 2005, US military officials announced that four American soldiers would not face charges for burning the bodies of two Taliban fighters in October 2005. The four soldiers burned the bodies of slain Taliban fighters, and allegedly used the charred remains to taunt other enemy combatants. Although Islamic law prohibits the burning of bodies, the soldiers claimed that they cremated the bodies in accordance with Article 120 of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The Pentagon began an investigation into the incident after an Australian news program aired video of the soldiers burning the bodies. Following the announcement that the soldiers would not be formally prosecuted, the Afghan government called the punishment "very lenient." Ultimately, the two junior officers who ordered the burnings were formally reprimanded and the other two soldiers were issued non-judicial punishments.

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