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Australia's defence department said Sunday it was investigating a series of videos taken by Australian soldiers in Iraq and posted on a popular Web site, including one showing a soldier pointing a pistol at the head of a man wearing Arab clothing.

The 14 videos were taken as part of an “unofficial video-making competition,” the Asian edition of Time magazine reported in an article posted on-line Saturday.

Local media reported the videos were posted on the popular on-line video sharing Web site YouTube and have since been removed at the defence department's request.

The chief of Australian defence forces, Angus Houston, said the picture of the soldier menacing the man in Arab clothing was the most offensive of the videos, which were under internal investigation. The picture was reproduced on the front pages of several Australian newspapers Monday.

In the picture, a soldier wearing military fatigues with his face obscured by a black balaclava holds a pistol to the head of a second man dressed like an Arab and on his knees with hands clasped behind his head. The second man is not identified but is assumed to be another Australian soldier. In the background, pornographic pictures of women from magazines are stuck to a wall and it appears to be the inside of a military barracks.

Another video shows the burned bodies of people killed in an explosion, the Time Asian edition reported. It was not clear whether the video was real or staged. The other videos show soldiers exposing themselves and clowning around with their weapons, it said.

Houston said he expected those responsible for making the videos between late 2003 and 2005 would be discharged from the military.

Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, currently maintains around 1,300 troops in and around Iraq.

Prime Minister John Howard said Monday that the investigation was best left to the military.

“These men and women operate in a very stressful environment and very dangerous environment and through the ages soldiers have let off a bit of steam . . . in private and the difference is that we now have videos and Internet,” Howard told Sydney radio 2GB.

“I'm not condoning it, but I'm just saying we shouldn't overreact and we ought to leave it to the military to sort it out,” he said.