Iraq expels American security firm by Delia Cruceru

The Iraqi Government decided to expel Blackwater SUA, a security firm that protects U.S. diplomats and other westerns, after the company was involved in a fatal shooting where Iraqi citizens were killed. Condoleezza Rice called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday to apologize for the shootings, agreeing to run a "fair and transparent investigation", according to a statement from Mr. Maliki's office. "She told the prime minister that we were investigating this incident and wanted to gain a full understanding of what happened," deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. "She reiterated that the United States does everything it can to avoid such loss of life, in contrast to the enemies of the Iraqi people who deliberately target civilians." Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the Interior Minister spokesman said they canceled the license for Blackwater prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. He added that eight civilians were killed and 13 were wounded when contractors believed to be working for Blackwater USA opened fire on civilians in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Mansour in western Baghdad. A spokeswoman for Blackwater, Anne E. Tyrrell said in a statement Monday that the contractors acted "lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad on Sunday." According to them the civilians were actually armed enemies and that the contractors had to open fire because the convoy was "violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070917/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AuLkii2VAKWiO6y8J_OQ4eis0NUE

by Delia Cruceru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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