Blackwater Shootings ‘Deliberate Murder,’ Iraq Says

[ProSense]

Blackwater Shootings ‘Deliberate Murder,’ Iraq Says

By JAMES GLANZ and ALISSA J. RUBIN
Published: October 8, 2007

BAGHDAD, Oct. 7 — The Iraqi prime minister’s office said Sunday that the government’s investigation had determined that Blackwater USA private security guards who shot Iraqi civilians three weeks ago in a Baghdad square sprayed gunfire in nearly every direction, committed “deliberate murder” and should be punished accordingly.

Iraqi investigators, supported by Iraqi witness accounts, have said unofficially that they could not find evidence of any attack on the Blackwater guards that might have provoked the shooting on Nisour Square, which the Iraqis now say killed 17 and wounded 27. But the Sunday statement by Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the prime minister, is the first indication that the government considers its investigation completed and the shootings unprovoked.

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Those conclusions contradict Blackwater’s original statement on the shooting, which said that a convoy operated by the company’s guards “acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack.” The Iraqi findings are also at odds with initial assertions by the State Department that the convoy had received small-arms fire.

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“Not even a brick was thrown at them,” said Abdul Qader Mohammed Jassim, the Iraqi defense minister. “And until now we have been examining this matter.”

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[WinkyDink]

1. Of course it was. And not isolated, I'd bet.

[ProSense]

2. Blackwater incident: What happened

Blackwater incident: What happened

The shooting of Iraqi civilians in an incident involving US security firm Blackwater remains the subject of several investigations.

The Iraqi government accuses Blackwater of killing the civilians on the morning of 16 September, while it was escorting an American diplomatic envoy in Baghdad.

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US officials have released few details of the incident as it is subject to an investigation by the FBI. The Iraqi government citing eyewitness reports has concluded that Blackwater guards fired on civilians without provocation.

The government is now calling for the Blackwater guards to face prosecution.

One of the most detailed accounts of the events according to Blackwater employees comes from an initial report by the US embassy. This was seen by the Washington Post at the end of last month.

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