Iraq expels 250 former Blackwater guards

The Iraqi interior minister said on Thursday he had expelled 250 ex-employees of the American security firm Blackwater, whose guards were charged with killing unarmed civilians in Baghdad.
"We have sent an order to 250 former Blackwater employees, who today are working with other security companies in Iraq, to leave the country in seven days and we have confiscated their residence permits," said Jawad Bolani.
"All of those concerned were notified four days ago and so they have three days to leave. This decision was made in connection with the crime that took place at Nisur Square."
Bolani was referring to an incident at the busy Baghdad square in September 2007, when five guards employed by Blackwater were accused of killing 14 unarmed Iraqis in a gun and grenade attack, and wounding 18 others.
The case has become a running sore among the Iraqi population and uproar was sparked last year when a US judge dismissed charges against the guards, ruling that US prosecutors violated their rights by using incriminating statements they had made under immunity during a State Department probe.
US Vice President Joe Biden, during a trip to Baghdad last month, expressed his "personal regret" at the incident and said the American government would appeal the case.
The Baghdad government maintains that 17 people were killed by the guards, who were part of a convoy of armoured vehicles.
Blackwater Worldwide changed its name to Xe Services in February 2009, following what the company said was a switch of business focus.
However, critics suggested that the rebranding was an effort to polish an image tarnished by an alleged culture of lawlessness and lack of accountability among Blackwater staff.
In December, the New York Times reported that Blackwater took part in Central Intelligence Agency "snatch and grab" missions to capture or kill insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The North Carolina-based firm lost its contract to provide security for US embassy diplomats in Baghdad in May 2009 after Iraqis and critics repeatedly accused it of adopting a cowboy mentality to duties in the country.
Only days earlier the Iraqi government said it was considering lodging its own complaint against Blackwater to seek compensation for the families of the victims.
The admissibility of such a case, however, was doubted because all of the families except one had previously agreed damages from Xe, according to a lawyer injured in the incident.
The lawyer, Hassan Jabbar Salman, said the families of those killed were offered 100,000 dollars (73,000 euros) and those wounded received between 20,000 and 50,000 dollars from the US security firm.

Iraq to deny licence to US Blackwater guards

Iraq will not renew the licence of Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm accused of killing Iraqi civilians while protecting U.S. diplomats, U.S. and Iraqi officials said on Thursday.

"The operating permission for the firm Blackwater will not be renewed. Its chance is zero," said Alaa al-Taie, head of the press department at the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

"It is not acceptable to Iraqis and there are legal points against it, like killing Iraqis with their weapons."

A U.S. embassy official confirmed that the embassy had been informed that the licence would not be renewed, and said it was working on finding a new arrangement to cover its security.

"We don't have specifics about dates. We are working with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision," the official said.

Blackwater employs hundreds of heavily-armed guards with a fleet of armoured vehicles and helicopters to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. The firm boasts that no American officials have been killed while under its protection.

But Iraqi officials have been furious with the firm since a September 2007 shooting in which Blackwater guards opened fire in traffic, killing at least 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

One Blackwater guard has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter over that incident, and is cooperating with U.S. prosecutors.

Five others are awaiting trial next year on manslaughter charges. The firm denies wrongdoing and says its staff were responding to a perceived threat.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki branded the incident a "massacre" and complained when the U.S. State Department subsequently renewed Blackwater's contract.

U.S. forces who occupied Iraq after the 2003 invasion granted their Western security contractors blanket immunity from Iraqi law. But that was revoked at the beginning of this year, and security contractors can now be prosecuted in Iraq.

Iraq may put six Blackwater guards on trial

Iraq yesterday said it reserves the right to try six guards working for private security firm Blackwater USA for their alleged role in the killing of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad last year.

"There is information that half a dozen Blackwater guards who have been accused of shooting and killing 17 Iraqis are to be tried in Washington," government spokesman said.

"The Iraqi government stresses its rights and that Blackwater guards have committed crimes against Iraqi victims. The government reserves the right to prosecute them," he said.

On September 16, the Blackwater guards shot dead 17 Iraqi civilians while escorting an American diplomatic convoy through Baghdad.

Blackwater says its guards were acting in self-defence.

Spokesman' commment came after the Washington Post reported that six Blackwater guards had received "target letters" from the US Justice Department in a probe of the shootings.

Such letters are often considered a prelude to indictment, the report said, adding the guards were former US military personnel.

The report said any charges against the guards would likely be brought under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which has previously been used to prosecute only the cases referred to the Justice Department by the Pentagon for crimes committed by military personnel and contractors overseas.

Despite strong opposition, the US Department of State earlier this year renewed a contract with Blackwater to protect American officials in Iraq.

Foreign security companies at present are not subject to Iraq law, but at the same time are not governed by US military tribunals, effectively allowing them to operate with impunity.

Meanwhile, more than three million Shi'ites marked the annual pilgrimage to Karbala amid tight security and attacks on the way to the holy city that killed dozens of people.

Turkish fighter planes hit a Kurdistan Workers Party guerilla base in northern Iraq, the army said yesterday.

It gave no details of casualties but said the operation was successful and the group of guerillas, hiding in a cave, was preparing for an attack against Turkey.

Border guard sources in Iraq could not immediately confirm Turkish strikes. Residents in border area reported seeing warplanes but no shelling.