US bans diplomatic movements outside Baghdad Green Zone

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Iraqi and foreign members of a private security company stand on the rooftop of a house in Baghdad. Iraqi and US officials have set up a joint panel in a bid to defuse a crisis over the killing of civilians in a shootout involving US security firm Blackwa

BAGHDAD, SEPT 19 (AP): The United States suspended all land travel by US diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the US Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA.
The move came Tuesday even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country - depriving American diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad.
"We are not intending to stop them and revoke their license indefinitely but we do need them to respect the law and the regulation here in Iraq," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told CNN.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, en route to the Middle East, said Tuesday night that it was too soon to tell what effect the ban will have on US operations in Iraq. Rice said she has expressed regret at the loss of life to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The Iraqi Ministry of Defence said that 20 Iraqis were killed as Blackwater helicopters also fired, considerably higher than the 11 dead reported before.
The US order confines most American officials to a 3.5-square-mile (9-square-kilometre) area in the centre of the city, meaning they cannot visit US-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter.
The notice did not say when the suspension would expire. The Iraqi Cabinet decided Tuesday to review the status of all foreign security companies. Still, it was unclear how the dispute would play out, given the government's need to appear resolute in defending national sovereignty while maintaining its relationship with Washington at a time when US public support for the mission is faltering.
Petraeus, America's top commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the top US diplomat here, briefed the British government Tuesday on their recommendations to keep troop levels high.
Meanwhile, a US soldier was killed in an attack in southern Baghdad, the military said Wednesday.
The Multi-National Division- Baghdad soldier was killed by small arms fire while conducting combat operations Tuesday in a southern section of the Iraqi capital, according to a brief military statement.
Also Tuesday, three US soldiers were killed following an explosion near their patrol northeast of Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier was killed in a vehicle accident in the northern province of Ninevah, the military said.
Exploiting public rage over the killings of what police said were civilians by Blackwater guards, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that the government ban all 48,000 foreign security contractors.