U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has condemned a video that appears to show U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters.

Panetta said Thursday the online video is “utterly deplorable.”

The NATO security force in Afghanistan also condemned the actions depicted in the video by a small group of U.S. Marines who apparently are no longer serving in Afghanistan.

ISAF called the act “disrespectful” and said it tarnishes the high moral standards expected of coalition forces.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the government is “deeply disturbed” by the video, and that the actions depicted amount to desecration of the Afghans' bodies. He called the alleged act “simply inhuman.”

The Pentagon said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the video, but that it has no reason to doubt its authenticity.

Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman said Thursday that while the video is “shocking,” he did not think it would derail peace negotiations with the United States, which he said are at a “preliminary stage.”