Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston vowed Sunday to launch a probe into 14 video clips showing Australian soldiers mishandling weapons and fraternizing with Iraqis.
Australia's military chief said that strong action would be taken immediately against soldiers found in the videos that were posted on Internet sites.
A defence force spokeswoman said it viewed any material of this nature seriously.
"Defence is investigating the origin of the imagery," she said.
The videos, credited to a person with the internet nickname pornstar, were first published on the YouTube Website but were later removed.
"The behavior in these few images displays cultural insensitivity, a disregard for operational security and inappropriate handling of weapons and is not condoned or sanctioned by Defense in any way," Houston said.
"There is no place in the (Australian Defense Force) for members who behave in this way. It shows a disregard for the high standards our people maintain."
Details of the videos, prepared by Australian members of the security detachment in Baghdad, were first uncovered by the Time Magazine, which described the clips as showing "serious wrongdoing by soldiers during their 2004 and 2005 operations in Baghdad."
In one image, an Australian soldier appeared pointing a handgun at the head of a kneeling man, possibly another Australian soldier dressed in Arab robes.
Another footage showed charred corpses; the victims of bombing attacks.
A former military police officer was quoted by Times as saying that the videos breached security procedures.
"To post that kind of stuff on the internet is quite derogatory to the uniform," he said.
Commenting on the 14 offending videos, Defence commentator John Hunter Farrell, publisher of the Australian and NZ Defender Magazine, has been quoted as saying:
"In my view this is the mother of all beat-ups," he said.
"It appals me the sanctimonious assaults directed at young Australians serving in the nightmare that is September 2006 Iraq."
According to Australia's military chief, most of the videos depicted Australian troops in a wholly positive light.
"We are not talking about a widespread problem here. We are talking about a small number of images," he claimed.
"We will take action to find out who is responsible for the offending images and we will clearly take action."
On the other hand, Army chief Lieutenant General Peter Leahy expressed his deep disappointment, saying "We will complete an investigation,
"And then, put simply, I will be asking a question why these soldiers should remain in the army."
The videos revived memories of a 2004 abuse scandal that hit the U.S. in Iraq, following the release of appalling pictures showing American soldiers and prison guards sexually and physically abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib jail near the Iraqi capital.
Pictures taken in 2003 at Abu Ghraib shed light on widespread abuse of prisoners in the occupied country.
Source: AlJazeera
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