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| Version 8 | Version 9 |
|---|---|
| Security guards fire on Iraqi car | Security guards fire on Iraqi car |
| (about 12 hours later) | |
| Foreign private security guards escorting a convoy through central Baghdad have killed two Iraqi women in a passing car, Iraqi sources say. | Foreign private security guards escorting a convoy through central Baghdad have killed two Iraqi women in a passing car, Iraqi sources say. |
| An Australian-run firm confirmed one of its teams had opened fire after a car failed to heed warnings to pull away, and said it regretted the deaths. | |
| One Iraqi policeman likened the guards to "gangsters riding away". | One Iraqi policeman likened the guards to "gangsters riding away". |
| The conduct of Western security firms in Iraq is already in question after a shooting in Baghdad last month. | The conduct of Western security firms in Iraq is already in question after a shooting in Baghdad last month. |
| 'Warnings, then shots' | 'Warnings, then shots' |
| In a statement released to the BBC News website, Unity Resources Group, which is run out of Dubai, said it was aware of a shooting incident involving one of its security teams. | |
| Our security team was approached at speed by a vehicle which failed to stop despite an escalation of warnings Unity Resources Group | Our security team was approached at speed by a vehicle which failed to stop despite an escalation of warnings Unity Resources Group |
| "The first information that we have is that our security team was approached at speed by a vehicle which failed to stop despite an escalation of warnings which included hand signals and a signal flare," the statement said. | |
| "Finally shots were fired at the vehicle and it stopped." | "Finally shots were fired at the vehicle and it stopped." |
| Unity was, it added, "working with the Iraqi authorities" to investigate the outcome of the incident, and would pass on any further information once the facts had been verified. | Unity was, it added, "working with the Iraqi authorities" to investigate the outcome of the incident, and would pass on any further information once the facts had been verified. |
| The latest 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 latest shooting happened in the Karada district, an area considered one of the safest in the city, the BBC's Jon Brain reports from Baghdad. |
| Women and children | Women and children |
| 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. |
| [Dead Iraqi driver Marou Awanis] was a part-time taxi-driver trying to make ends meet Abu Mairam Relative of victim | [Dead Iraqi driver Marou Awanis] was a part-time taxi-driver trying to make ends meet Abu Mairam Relative of victim |
| 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. |
| Marou Awanis was a widowed "part-time taxi-driver trying to make ends meet and to pay for the education of her two children", relative Abu Mairam told AFP news agency. | Marou Awanis was a widowed "part-time taxi-driver trying to make ends meet and to pay for the education of her two children", relative Abu Mairam told AFP news agency. |
| Inquiry launched | Inquiry launched |
| Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said an investigation was under way into the incident. | Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said an investigation was under way into the incident. |
| 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 the US security firm Blackwater pay $8m (£3.9m) compensation to each family bereaved by last month's shootings in Baghdad, which killed 17 people. | On Monday, the Iraqi government demanded that the US security firm Blackwater pay $8m (£3.9m) compensation to each family bereaved by last month's shootings in Baghdad, which killed 17 people. |
| Blackwater has the contract for guarding US embassy staff and is also used both by visiting businesspeople and officials. | Blackwater has the contract for guarding US embassy staff and is also used both by visiting businesspeople and officials. |
| It insists its staff were acting in legitimate self-defence, and that they had come under fire from insurgents. | It insists its staff were acting in legitimate self-defence, and that they had come under fire from insurgents. |
| Iraq's government is demanding the US end its association with Blackwater and has vowed to put such firms under Iraqi jurisdiction. | Iraq's government is demanding the US end its association with Blackwater and has vowed to put such firms under Iraqi jurisdiction. |