A US Marine sergeant who urinated on dead Taliban insurgents in Helmand Province and posed for photos with the bodies has pled guilty to two charges in a military court.

His sentence was a reduction in rank and forfeiture of $500 in pay.

Joseph Chamblin pled guilty at a special court martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to dereliction of duty for failing to properly supervise junior Marines. He also pled guilty to wrongfully urinating on a deceased enemy combatant.

The incident occurred during a counter-insurgency operation in Afghanistan in July 2011. It came to light in January this year when a video of the incident was posted online.

Chamblin waived his right to a jury and pled guilty to two counts before a military judge, the statement said.