Australian Firm Kills 2 in Baghdad

Australian Firm Kills 2 in Baghdad
Associated Press | October 10, 2007


BAGHDAD - Guards with an Australian-owned firm that provides security 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 U.S. 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.

The deaths Tuesday at a Baghdad intersection may sharpen demands to curb the expanding array of security firms in Iraq watching over diplomats, aid groups and others.

"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.

RTI International, a group based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., that promotes governance projects in Iraq for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Unity was providing security for the group but none of its staff members "were involved or present when the incident occurred."

An embassy spokeswoman said the group was under contract by USAID but was responsible for its own security. "USAID does not direct the security arrangements of contractors," embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said.

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