This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7035924.stm
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Guards linked to new Iraq deaths | Guards linked to new Iraq deaths |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Foreign private security guards escorting a convoy through central Baghdad have killed two Iraqi women in a passing car, local sources say. | Foreign private security guards escorting a convoy through central Baghdad have killed two Iraqi women in a passing car, local sources say. |
| The security firm was not named but Iraqi police say they were definitely foreign and one policeman likened them to "gangsters riding away". | The security firm was not named but Iraqi police say they were definitely foreign and one policeman likened them to "gangsters riding away". |
| An Iraqi report on Monday accused US firm Blackwater of deliberately firing on civilians last month, killing 17. | An Iraqi report on Monday accused US firm Blackwater of deliberately firing on civilians last month, killing 17. |
| The firm denies wrongdoing over the deaths and Iraqi anger is running high. | The firm denies wrongdoing over the deaths and Iraqi anger is running high. |
| Iraq's government is demanding the US end its association with Blackwater, which has the contract for guarding US embassy staff in Baghdad. | Iraq's government is demanding the US end its association with Blackwater, which has the contract for guarding US embassy staff in Baghdad. |
| Christian victims | Christian victims |
| Tuesday's shooting happened in the Karada district, an area considered one of the safest in the city, the BBC's Jon Brain reports from Baghdad. | Tuesday's shooting happened in the Karada district, an area considered one of the safest in the city, the BBC's Jon Brain reports from Baghdad. |
| The Iraqi people have no value to them [the security guards] relative of victim | The Iraqi people have no value to them [the security guards] relative of victim |
| According to eyewitnesses, the masked security guards threw a smoke bomb and opened fire on a car which was driving close to the four-vehicle convoy they were protecting. | According to eyewitnesses, the masked security guards threw a smoke bomb and opened fire on a car which was driving close to the four-vehicle convoy they were protecting. |
| Two women in the car were killed and a third was injured. | Two women in the car were killed and a third was injured. |
| One eyewitness, shopkeeper Ammar Fallah, said the guards had signalled for the car's woman driver to pull over as they passed. | One eyewitness, shopkeeper Ammar Fallah, said the guards had signalled for the car's woman driver to pull over as they passed. |
| "When she failed to do so they opened fire, killing her and the woman next to her," he told AFP news agency. | "When she failed to do so they opened fire, killing her and the woman next to her," he told AFP news agency. |
| "There were two children in the back seat but they were not harmed. The women were both shot in the head." | "There were two children in the back seat but they were not harmed. The women were both shot in the head." |
| Relatives at a local police station identified the dead women as Marou Awanis, 48, and Geneva Jalal, 30, both members of Iraq's small Christian minority. | Relatives at a local police station identified the dead women as Marou Awanis, 48, and Geneva Jalal, 30, both members of Iraq's small Christian minority. |
| Attacks on Western convoys in Iraq are usually carried out by Muslim insurgent groups. | Attacks on Western convoys in Iraq are usually carried out by Muslim insurgent groups. |
| "These are innocent people killed by people who have no heart," a relative told The Associated Press news agency. | "These are innocent people killed by people who have no heart," a relative told The Associated Press news agency. |
| "The Iraqi people have no value to them." | "The Iraqi people have no value to them." |
| Inquiry launched | Inquiry launched |
| The guards' vehicle was unmarked and it has not yet been established who they were working for or their nationality. | The guards' vehicle was unmarked and it has not yet been established who they were working for or their nationality. |
| Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said an investigation was under way "to find which security company it was". | Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said an investigation was under way "to find which security company it was". |
| A US embassy spokeswoman quoted by Reuters news agency said the convoy had not been carrying its staff. | A US embassy spokeswoman quoted by Reuters news agency said the convoy had not been carrying its staff. |
| On Monday, the Iraqi government demanded that Blackwater pay $8m (£3.9m) compensation to each family bereaved by last month's shootings. | On Monday, the Iraqi government demanded that Blackwater pay $8m (£3.9m) compensation to each family bereaved by last month's shootings. |
| The controversial security firm is used both by the US embassy and visiting businesspeople and officials. | |
| It insists its staff were acting in legitimate self-defence in last month's shooting, and that they had come under fire from insurgents. | It insists its staff were acting in legitimate self-defence in last month's shooting, and that they had come under fire from insurgents. |
| Private security firms have been granted immunity by Iraq's US-backed administrations since the fall for Saddam Hussein, but following the Blackwater affair the Baghdad government vowed to put them under Iraqi jurisdiction. | Private security firms have been granted immunity by Iraq's US-backed administrations since the fall for Saddam Hussein, but following the Blackwater affair the Baghdad government vowed to put them under Iraqi jurisdiction. |