MORE than a dozen videos showing Australian soldiers in Iraq mishandling weapons and cavorting in Arab robes are under investigation by the Australian Defence Force.

The videos could assist military officers conducting an investigation into the death of Private Jake Kovco, who died from a single bullet to the head in Iraq in April.

The clips - thought to have been made for an unofficial amateur short-film contest - show a soldier pointing a handgun at the head of a kneeling man, believed to be another Australian soldier, dressed in Arab robes.

They also show a soldier practising quick-drawing his handgun, another soldier socialising with Iraqis inside the barracks and other soldiers relaxing in their barracks. Another clip shows the burnt bodies of terrorist bombing victims.

Speculation that Pte Kovco, a trained sniper, died after joking around with his 9mm Browning pistol in front of his roommates has been repeatedly dismissed by defence personnel.

However, a military board of inquiry into his death has so far failed to provide a satisfactory explanation to his widow and family.

At the inquiry, one of Pte Kovco's roommates, "Soldier 17", said Pte Kovco might have shot himself while fooling around with his loaded gun. The soldier said he and Pte Kovco were singing a pop song in high, feminine voices just before the gun went off.

The recent videos of skylarking soldiers were discovered after someone with the internet nickname "pornstar" posted them on the YouTube website. They have since been removed.

A Defence force spokeswoman said the material was being taken seriously and an investigation had been launched into the origin of the videos.

Army chief Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy yesterday said he was "extremely disappointed that some very unprofessional, immature and silly soldiers" had displayed images that brought all other ADF personnel into disrepute.

"We will complete an investigation. And then, put simply, I will be asking . . . why these soldiers should remain in the army," he said.

However, other senior officers played down the significance of the videos.

Defence force chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said most of the material on the videos depicted Australian troops in a positive light.

"We are not talking about a widespread problem here. We are talking about a small number of images," he said.

"We will . . . find out who is responsible for the offending images and we will clearly take action."

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