Iraq Cancels License of US Security Firm Over Baghdad Shooting
17 September 2007
Iraq's Interior Ministry has canceled the license of a U.S. security company that is under investigation for a Baghdad shootout that left eight Iraqi civilians dead.
A ministry spokesman said Monday that Blackwater USA is prohibited from operating anywhere in Iraq.
U.S. and Iraqi authorities are investigating Sunday's shooting that erupted when a U.S. diplomatic convoy being escorted by the contractors came under attack in western Baghdad.
Iraqi officials say the security contractors fired randomly. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the shooting and called it a crime.
In other developments, the U.S. military says coalition forces killed seven suspected terrorists and captured 31 suspects in raids Monday targeting the networks of al-Qaida in Iraq.
On Sunday, the U.S. military says troops on Saturday captured a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member believed responsible for killing a key Sunni Arab leader in Anbar province last week.
The victim, Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, was a U.S. ally who organized Sunni Arab clans in Anbar to fight al-Qaida in Iraq.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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