Posted on 11/20/2007 9:05:24 AM PST by NormsRevenge
BAGHDAD - The Iraqi military on Tuesday took a hard stance against 33 foreigners and 10 Iraqis detained after a shooting involving their convoy run by a U.S.-contracted firm in Baghdad, saying they were accused of opening fire randomly and wounding an Iraqi woman.
The U.S. military said that the convoy belonged to Almco Group, an Iraqi-run company that has contracts with U.S.-led forces, but that it was unclear if those detained were operating under the auspices of those contracts or others when the shooting occurred Monday.
"We are steadfastly against any security company that behaves recklessly when it comes to the lives of Iraqis or the violation of Iraqi laws," said Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad.
Monday's incident follows a series of recent shootings in which foreign security guards allegedly have killed Iraqis. Last month, the Iraqi Cabinet sent parliament a bill to lift immunity for foreign private security companies that has been in effect since the U.S. occupation began in 2003.
Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said Almco, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has contracts with U.S.-led forces to provide food, water and other life support functions to military transition teams, as well as the construction of a justice compound.
But he said it was not yet determined whether those detained were working on those contracts at the time of the incident.
"They may have been working for another contract at the time that they were detained," Leighton said.
Almco officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Al-Moussawi said the convoy was driving on the wrong side of the road in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah when the woman was wounded in a shooting that took place about midday.
He said four vehicles were seized including "an armored Ford, an armored Mercedes, an armored Landcruiser and a Scania truck" along with four PKC machine guns, eight Kalashnikov rifles and three pistols.
He said those arrested included two Fijians with American nationalities, along with 21 people from Sri Lanka, nine from Nepal, 10 Iraqis and one Indian. They face charges including traveling no the wrong side of the road in a four-vehicle convoy, firing randomly and trying to kill a female citizen.
Leighton denied any Americans were involved, saying the two Fijians held identification cards issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.
He said the detainees were being held at an Iraqi army headquarters and coalition forces were dispatched to stay with them to ensure they receive proper treatment.
Leighton confirmed a woman was wounded in a shooting involving the convoy, but he declined to give more details, saying the circumstances were still under investigation.
The role of private security guards has become particularly controversial following a Sept. 16 shooting in which Blackwater Worldwide guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians at Baghdad's Nisoor Square.
The FBI is continuing its investigation into the shootings, although the Iraqi government has concluded that the security guards were unprovoked when the began shooting at an intersection at Nisoor Square in western Baghdad. The North Carolina-based company, the largest private security firm protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq, has said its security convoy was under attack before it opened fire.
The Iraqi Cabinet's initiative to lift immunity for private security companies would not be retroactive and therefore not affect the Blackwater employees who were involved in the Sept. 16 shooting. Parliament has yet to act on the measure.
"After the Nisoor Square incident, orders were issued to all security sectors of Baghdad ... that they should not be lenient with those who break the law or encroach upon people," al-Moussawi said. "The swift procedure yesterday was a legal one. We will not allow any security company to disrespect the people's blood, assault them or break the laws."
Leighton said Almco was not conducting personal security activities for the U.S., although its construction contract did specify that the company should provide all required security for transportation and shipment of personnel and equipment.
Almco provides services ranging from dining facilities to water treatment and fuel supply for about 17,000 people in military camps and various companies across Iraq, according to the company's Web site.
A top U.S. commander, meanwhile, said violence in northern Iraq has declined at a slower rate than it has in other regions, as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere.
As a result, the north is now more violent than other regions. Most of the 27 U.S. deaths this month were north of Baghdad.
Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who commands U.S. troops in the region, said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north.
"What you're seeing is the enemy shifting," he told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Tikrit. "The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks."
He said 900 roadside bombs were placed in his region last month, compared with 1,830 in June.
The sun sets over Baghdad. The US military has filed a formal complaint with an Iraqi criminal court accusing a detained, award-winning Associated Press photographer of being a "terrorist media operative," the Pentagon said Monday.(AFP/File/Christophe Simon)
Iraqi Shiites carry a poster of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
during a march in Baghdad's impoverished district of Sadr City, 18 November 2007.
Dozens of militants loyal to Sadr have been arrested in an assault by US and Iraqi
troops in the central city of Diwaniyah, officials said.
(AFP/Wissam Al-Okaili)
Iraqi police and soldiers display assorted arms and munitions recovered in Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, November 19, 2007. Iranian-made weapons were among a large cache of arms and ammunition found during operations in a Shi'ite militia stronghold south of Baghdad, the Iraqi army said on Monday. REUTERS/Imad al-Khozai (IRAQ)
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