Pictures of a US Marine, apparently shouting a holy word over and over while he jumped up and down sucking his finger, have been broadcast across the Middle East.

Hammer - 'insensitive'

The incident is believed to have followed an accident with a hammer, our media staff reports.

It is being seen as the latest in a line of gross insensitivity's to Iraqi feelings.

The holy word Shi'ite sounds exactly like one of the most frequently used terms of vulgar abuse in the English speaking world, especially when said whilst jumping up and down with a finger in your mouth.

This latest setback follows a series of disastrous events involving evidence of torture sessions of Iraqi nationals in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison, carried out by US troops.

An attempt by US President George W Bush to explain his honourable motives in Iraq in a television interview, screened in the region because of these pictures, was also seen as insensitive when he forgot to apologise for the torture of Iraqi nationals.

The White House issued an apology at a press briefing later.