Shootings put security contractors under scrutiny in Iraq:
Foreign workers firing on civilians, US officials say
By Jonathan Finer, Washington Post September 18, 2005
ERBIL, Iraq -- The pop of a single rifle shot broke the relative calm of Ali Ismael's morning commute here in one of Iraq's safest cities
Ismael, his older brother Bayez, and their driver had just pulled into traffic behind a convoy of four Chevrolet Suburbans, which police think belonged to an American security contractor stationed nearby. The backdoor of the last vehicle swung open, the brothers said in interviews, and a man wearing sunglasses and a tan flak jacket leaned out and leveled his rifle.
''I thought he was just trying to scare us, like they usually do, to keep us back. But then he fired," said Ismael, 20. His scalp is marked by a bald patch and a 4-inch purple scar from a bullet that grazed his head and left him bleeding in the back seat of his Toyota Land Cruiser.
''Everything is cloudy after that," he said.
A US investigation of the July 14 shooting concluded that no American contractors were responsible, a finding disputed by the Ismaels, other witnesses, local politicians, and the city's top security official, who termed it a coverup. No one has yet been held responsible.
Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of US, British, and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and US commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians.
Private security companies pervade Iraq's dusty highways, their distinctive sport-utility vehicles packed with men waving rifles to clear traffic in their path. Theirs are among the most dangerous jobs in the country: escorting convoys, guarding dignitaries, and protecting infrastructure from insurgent attacks. But their activities have drawn scrutiny here and in Washington after allegations of indiscriminate shootings and other recklessness have given rise to charges of inadequate oversight.
''These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force," said Brigadier General Karl Horst, deputy commander of the Third Infantry Division, which is responsible for security in and around Baghdad. ''They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."
No tally of such activity has been made public, and Aegis, a British security company that helps manage contractors in Baghdad and maintains an operations center in the capital's fortified Green Zone, declined to answer questions. In the rare instances when police reports are filed, the US military is often blamed for the actions of private companies, according to Adnan Asadi, the deputy interior minister responsible for overseeing security companies.
The shootings became so frequent in Baghdad this summer that Horst started keeping his own count. Between May and July, he said, he tracked at least a dozen shootings of civilians by contractors, in which six Iraqis were killed and three wounded. The bloodiest case occurred May 12 in the neighborhood of New Baghdad. A contractor opened fire on an approaching car, which then veered into a crowd. Two days after the shooting, American soldiers patrolling the same block were attacked with a roadside bomb.Continued...
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By Jonathan Finer, Washington Post September 18, 2005
ERBIL, Iraq -- The pop of a single rifle shot broke the relative calm of Ali Ismael's morning commute here in one of Iraq's safest cities
Ismael, his older brother Bayez, and their driver had just pulled into traffic behind a convoy of four Chevrolet Suburbans, which police think belonged to an American security contractor stationed nearby. The backdoor of the last vehicle swung open, the brothers said in interviews, and a man wearing sunglasses and a tan flak jacket leaned out and leveled his rifle.
''I thought he was just trying to scare us, like they usually do, to keep us back. But then he fired," said Ismael, 20. His scalp is marked by a bald patch and a 4-inch purple scar from a bullet that grazed his head and left him bleeding in the back seat of his Toyota Land Cruiser.
''Everything is cloudy after that," he said.
A US investigation of the July 14 shooting concluded that no American contractors were responsible, a finding disputed by the Ismaels, other witnesses, local politicians, and the city's top security official, who termed it a coverup. No one has yet been held responsible.
Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of US, British, and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and US commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians.
Private security companies pervade Iraq's dusty highways, their distinctive sport-utility vehicles packed with men waving rifles to clear traffic in their path. Theirs are among the most dangerous jobs in the country: escorting convoys, guarding dignitaries, and protecting infrastructure from insurgent attacks. But their activities have drawn scrutiny here and in Washington after allegations of indiscriminate shootings and other recklessness have given rise to charges of inadequate oversight.
''These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force," said Brigadier General Karl Horst, deputy commander of the Third Infantry Division, which is responsible for security in and around Baghdad. ''They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."
No tally of such activity has been made public, and Aegis, a British security company that helps manage contractors in Baghdad and maintains an operations center in the capital's fortified Green Zone, declined to answer questions. In the rare instances when police reports are filed, the US military is often blamed for the actions of private companies, according to Adnan Asadi, the deputy interior minister responsible for overseeing security companies.
The shootings became so frequent in Baghdad this summer that Horst started keeping his own count. Between May and July, he said, he tracked at least a dozen shootings of civilians by contractors, in which six Iraqis were killed and three wounded. The bloodiest case occurred May 12 in the neighborhood of New Baghdad. A contractor opened fire on an approaching car, which then veered into a crowd. Two days after the shooting, American soldiers patrolling the same block were attacked with a roadside bomb.Continued...
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