Baghdad
Iraq has revoked the licence of a US security firm accused of
killing civilians in a Baghdad shootout, the government said. The US
has expressed regret about the deaths.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki condemned Sunday's incident as
"a criminal act" and vowed to punish the perpetrators. Iraqi and US
officials said both sides were investigating what happened.
Eight Iraqis died and at least 13 others were wounded in Sunday's
fire fight, which erupted after a car bomb exploded in western
Baghdad as a US diplomatic convoy was passing by.
Private guards of the Blackwater USA security company began shooting
in response to the blasts, the head of the national command centre
at the Iraqi Interior Ministry, General Abdul Karim Khalaf, told the
independent Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.
"According to eyewitnesses, the company's personnel opened fire
against individuals after the explosion, killing and injuring a
number of citizens," he said.
Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani rescinded Blackwater's operating
licence and said an investigation was launched in cooperation with
US forces.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called al-Maliki Monday "to
express her regret over the death of innocent civilians", said Tom
Casey, a State Department spokesman.
They agreed to work together in the investigation, he said.
The State Department said the motorcade was a US embassy convoy that
came under attack.
"There was a fire fight, we believe some innocent lives was lost.
Nobody wants to see that. But I can't tell you who was responsible
for that," State Department chief spokesman Sean McCormack said.
US private guards provide security for diplomats, politicians and a
number of companies and construction workers in Iraq. Blackwater,
based in Moyock, North Carolina, did not immediately return a phone
call seeking comment.
In other developments Monday, at least four people were killed and
11 wounded when a car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in
Baghdad's Sadr City, VOI reported, citing Baghdad security
operations commander Qassim Atta.
Unconfirmed media reports said 10 people had been killed in the
incident. The predominately Shiite Sadr City is located in eastern
Baghdad.
Also Monday, a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in
Yarmouk neighbourhood in western Baghdad, injuring five people
including two policemen, VOI reported citing a police source and
witnesses.
In Hillah, 100 km south of Baghdad, eight Iraqi soldiers and two
officers were wounded in a blast at an army barracks, Iraqi army
sources said. Three were seriously injured.
In Mosul, 40 km north of Baghdad, unidentified gunmen shot and
killed Kurdish Sheikh Yassin Suliman, imam of al-Zahraa mosque, in
al-Wahda, witnesses said.
US-led coalition forces killed seven terrorist suspects and detained
31 others during operations in central and northern Iraq targeting
Al Qaeda terrorist network militants, according to the US military.
VOI quoted Monday "a well-informed official source" as saying that
Iraq's predominately Shiite holy city of Karbala has been the scene
of 142 assassinations since January 2007, with government, police an
army officials among those killed.
The source, who spoke about these acts of violence on condition of
anonymity, added that civilians were also among those targeted.
The source said assassinations had decreased in the city, 100 km
south of Baghdad, mainly due to strict security measures. Only four
such attacks were carried out between Aug 27 and Sep 17, the source
told VOI.
On Aug 27, fierce armed clashes between militants believed to belong
to the Mahdi Army, which is loyal to Shiite cleric and leader
Moqtada al-Sadr, and Iraqi security forces, left 50 pilgrims dead
and scores wounded.
Fights erupted as Shiite pilgrims began gathering to commemorate the
anniversary of the birth of the iconic Shiite figure, Imam al-Mahdi,
in Karbala.
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