Australian security firm kills two Iraqis
Thursday, 11 October 2007
BAGHDAD, OCT 10 (AP): Guards working for an Australian-owned security company working for a company contracted by USAID fired on a car as it approached their convoy Tuesday, killing two women civilians before speeding away from the latest bloodshed blamed on the deadly mix of heavily armed protection details on Baghdad's crowded streets.
The deaths of the two Iraqi Christians - including one who used the white sedan as an unofficial taxi to raise money for her family came a day after the Iraqi government handed US officials a report demanding hefty payments and the ouster from Iraq of embattled Blackwater USA for a chaotic shooting last month that left at least 17 civilians dead.
"We deeply regret this incident," said a statement from Michael Priddin, the chief operating officer of Unity Resources Group, a security company owned by Australian partners but with headquarters in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Four armored SUVs - three white and one gray - were about 100 yards from a main intersection in the Shiite-controlled district at about 1:40 p.m. As the car, a white Oldsmobile, moved into the crossroads, two of the Unity guards opened fire. The woman driving the car tried to stop, but was killed along with her passenger. Two of three people in the back seat were wounded.
Iraqi police investigators said they collected 19 spent 5.56mm shell casings, ammunition commonly used by US and NATO forces and most Western security organisations.
The pavement was stained with blood and covered with shattered glass from the car windows. Majid said the convoy raced away after the shooting. Iraqi police came to collect the bodies and tow the car to the local station.
The victims were identified by relatives and police as Marou Awanis, born in 1959, and Geneva Jalal, born in 1977. Awanis' sister-in-law, Anahet Bougous, said the woman had been using her car to drive government employees to work to help raise money for her three daughters.
The deaths of the two Iraqi Christians - including one who used the white sedan as an unofficial taxi to raise money for her family came a day after the Iraqi government handed US officials a report demanding hefty payments and the ouster from Iraq of embattled Blackwater USA for a chaotic shooting last month that left at least 17 civilians dead.
"We deeply regret this incident," said a statement from Michael Priddin, the chief operating officer of Unity Resources Group, a security company owned by Australian partners but with headquarters in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Four armored SUVs - three white and one gray - were about 100 yards from a main intersection in the Shiite-controlled district at about 1:40 p.m. As the car, a white Oldsmobile, moved into the crossroads, two of the Unity guards opened fire. The woman driving the car tried to stop, but was killed along with her passenger. Two of three people in the back seat were wounded.
Iraqi police investigators said they collected 19 spent 5.56mm shell casings, ammunition commonly used by US and NATO forces and most Western security organisations.
The pavement was stained with blood and covered with shattered glass from the car windows. Majid said the convoy raced away after the shooting. Iraqi police came to collect the bodies and tow the car to the local station.
The victims were identified by relatives and police as Marou Awanis, born in 1959, and Geneva Jalal, born in 1977. Awanis' sister-in-law, Anahet Bougous, said the woman had been using her car to drive government employees to work to help raise money for her three daughters.