Baghdad, Sep 18 (DPA) 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Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani rescinded Blackwater’s operating licence and said an investigation was launched in cooperation with US forces.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.