Image caption One Marine can be heard saying, "Have a good day, buddy," in the clip

Two US Marines have been referred for trial by courts martial for a video of troops urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan, the US military says.

Staff sergeants Joseph Chamblin and Edward Deptola are also charged with failure to report or stop misconduct by junior Marines, including random firing of weapons.

Three other Marines were disciplined in August for their role in the clip.

It surfaced online in January this year.

In addition, the two non-commissioned officers, who are assigned to the Third Battalion, Second Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, are alleged to have posed for photographs with human casualties.

Further charges

The incidents are believed to have taken place during a counter-insurgency operation in Afghanistan's Helmand Province on or around 27 July 2011, the Marine Corps said.

The two Marines are also facing charges for other alleged misconduct on the same operation.

They are accused of being derelict in their duties by not supervising junior Marines, failing to ensure they were wearing personal protective gear and failing to report the negligent discharge of a grenade launcher.

The three other servicemen who were disciplined in August pleaded guilty: one to "urinating on the body of a deceased Taliban soldier", another to posing for a photo with human casualties, and a third for lying to investigators.

In the video, someone can be heard saying: "Have a good day, buddy."

Their identities have not been revealed and the Marine Corps said it would provide details of disciplinary actions against them at a later date.

The footage surfaced at a sensitive time for US-Afghan relations, as American officials attempted to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.

One month later, violent protests broke out in Afghanistan after it emerged US troops had incinerated a number of Korans.

The holy books had been confiscated from prisoners, amid claims they were being used to pass secret messages.

The ensuing unrest claimed 30 lives and saw two US troops shot dead.