By Claudia Parsons 1 hour, 32 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings said on Friday he plans to investigate deaths caused by the U.S. military and contractors in Iraq, including the recent Blackwater case in Baghdad.
Private security firm Blackwater has been under intense scrutiny since the shooting deaths of at least 17 Iraqis last month in an incident that enraged Iraq's government and sparked calls for greater accountability for contractors.
Philip Alston, U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, told a news conference at the United Nations the United States was among the few countries that had agreed for him to visit as part of his mandate to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings.
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"I am very interested in questions relating to military justice, for example. In other words, the response to alleged extrajudicial executions by members of the U.S. military, particularly in places like Iraq and Afghanistan."
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