The Marine Corps distanced itself Thursday from a video purporting to show members of one of its sniper teams urinating on dead bodies in Afghanistan, even as military officials said they could not immediately verify its origin or authenticity.

"We are aware of the video. The hate in it does not represent the U.S. Marine Corps," said Col. Ricco Player, a spokesman for the Marines in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province. "An investigation has been initiated."

The story broke Wednesday when a number of websites including TMZ and YouTube posted a video showing four men dressed in Marine combat gear urinating on what appeared to be the dead bodies of three men on the ground in front of them.

One of the men says, "Have a great day, buddy." A voice asks, "You got it on the video?" to which another voice responds, "Yeah." Another jokes, "Golden, like a shower."

It was not clear who shot or posted the 39-second video, who the people pictured in it were or where it was shot, though a U.S. official said it was a "reasonable conclusion" it was filmed in Afghanistan.

The official, based in Afghanistan, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.