The News of the World newspaper obtained the video which it claimed was shot during street riots in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in 2004.
On the fuzzy tape, British soldiers can be seen dragging four young protestors off a street and into an army compound where they were punched, kicked and hit with batons.
The cameraman’s voice can be heard laughing and saying: “Oh yes! Oh yes! You’re gonna get it. Yes, naughty little boys… Die. Ha. Ha.”
In just one minute of footage, it is said as many as 42 blows can be counted, with one youth kicked in the genitals.
The footage was filmed by an unidentified cameraman thought to be a corporal who apparently videotaped the incident for fun.
The News of the World claimed the tape was shown at the troops’ home base in Europe before being handed over by a whistleblower.
The British Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation into the video by the Royal Military Police.
Brutality condemned
Prime Minister Tony Blair said the overwhelming majority of British troops in Iraq behave properly and do a great job for their country and the world.
A military spokesman in Iraq condemned “all acts of abuse and brutality” by British troops, saying the allegations related to a tiny number of the 80,000 personnel serving in Iraq.
“We hope that the good relations that the multi-national forces have worked very hard to develop won’t be adversely affected by this material,” said British military spokesman, Lieutenant Chris Thomas, who is based in Basra.
Past abuse by coalition forces
In February 2005, three British soldiers were jailed and dismissed from the army in disgrace for their roles in a prisoner scandal at an aid camp in southern Iraq.
Nine American soldiers were convicted in October of offences relating to a series of abuses at the Abu Grahib prison, near Baghdad.
But a series of photographs published in London’s Daily Mirror newspaper appearing to show soldiers from the Queens Lancashire Regiment abusing Iraqi detainees were revealed to be fakes.
The News of the World’s managing editor, Stuart Kuttner, said after exhaustive checks with people around the source and military experts, staff were satisfied it was an “absolutely genuine article.”
The allegations are certain to reignite debate over the conduct of the coalition forces in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003 that overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime.