[NYTr] Two US mercenaries arrested by Iraqi forces after woman is shot

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

The Independent - Nov 20, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3177072.ece

Two US security guards arrested by Iraqi forces after woman is shot

By Kim Gamel in Baghdad

Iraqi soldiers detained two US security guards along with other
foreigners in a private convoy after the guards opened fire in Baghdad,
wounding one woman.

US military and embassy officials had no immediate information about
the report by the Iraqi military, which follows a series of recent
shootings in which foreign security guards have allegedly killed Iraqis.

Brig-General Qassim al-Moussawi said the convoy was driving on the
wrong side of the road in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah
when the shooting occurred. Those arrested included two US guards,
along with 21 people from Sri Lanka, nine from Nepal and 10 Iraqis, the
Baghdad military spokesman said.

"We have given orders to our forces to immediately intervene in case
they see any violations by security companies. The members of this
security company wounded an innocent woman and they tried to escape the
scene, but Iraq forces arrested them," Brig-Gen Al-Moussawi said.

The role of private security guards has been highlighted following a
shooting on 16 September in which Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 17
Iraqi civilians. The FBI is investigating the shootings, although the
Iraqi government has concluded that the guards were unprovoked when
they began shooting at Nisoor Square in west Baghdad.

The North Carolina-based company, the largest private security firm
protecting US diplomats in Iraq, has said its convoy was under attack
before it opened fire. The shootings occurred on a day in which at
least 22 people were killed or found dead.

ABC News reported yesterday that a US grand jury has opened an
investigation into the deaths of the 17 Iraqis. ABC said several
Blackwater guards had been subpoenaed in the inquiry by the federal
grand jury in Washington. US Justuce Department and Blackwater
officials would not confirm the report. AP