Iraq arrests private security company agents
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Baghdad, Nov 20, IRNA
Iraq-Shooting-Arrest
Iraqi government on Tuesday arrested at least 32 foreigners said to be agents of private security company.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters that they have been detained in Baghdad after an Iraqi woman was shot and injured in Karrada district of Baghdad.
Among those held are private security guards, with early reports saying two Americans were among those held.
The incident occurred as guards tried to clear the way for their convoy in a traffic jam, the Iraqi official said.
The Iraqi government has vowed to crack down on offending security firms.
Iraqi government had demanded that the US pay dlrs 136 million in compensation to families of 17 Iraqi nationals shot dead by guards working for the North Carolina-based Blackwater firm on September 16.
The latest shooting incident occurred on Monday.
This is a message to security companies that no one is above the law, Dabbagh said.
Two Americans working as guards for the firm are among those detained. Also in detention are some of the foreign workers -- now reported to include Sri Lankans and Nepalese -- whom the guards were escorting through Karrada district when the shooting incident allegedly happened.
"Those involved will be put on trial and the innocent will be released," Dabbagh said.
In the wake of the Blackwater controversy, the Iraqi government promised it would crack down on the activities of the multiple foreign security contractors operating in the country.
At the end of October, it approved a draft law revoking their immunity from prosecution.
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