Security guards 'kill two Iraqis'

[habitual]

Source: BBC News

Private security guards have killed two Iraqi women in central Baghdad, Iraqi police have reported.

The security company involved in the incident has not been named.

--snip--

Witnesses to Tuesday's incident said the security guards signalled to a woman driving a car to pull over as they passed.

When she did not, they opened fire, killing her and a passenger.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7035924.stm

[maddezmom]

1. Security guards kill two women in Baghdad

Security guards kill two women in Baghdad 27 minutes ago



BAGHDAD (AFP) - Foreign security guards killed two women when they opened fire on a car in the centre of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, witnesses and Iraqi security officials said.

The shooting in Karrada came two days after Iraq vowed to punish US security firm Blackwater after a probe found that its guards were not provoked when they opened "deliberate" fire in Baghdad three weeks ago, killing 17 Iraqis.

It was not clear which security company was involved in Tuesday's shooting.

Shopkeeper Ammar Fallah, a witness to the shooting, told AFP the guards, who were escorting a civilian convoy through the streets, signalled for a woman driving a car to pull over as they passed

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071009/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestguards_071009132327;_ylt=As16lBiiuQVhNbDuFTDrRombOrgF

[maddezmom]

6. a bit more info here:

~snip~

Police and witnesses could not immediately give more details about the gunmen in Baghdad except to say they were in a convoy of four SUVs commonly used by private security companies and the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.

~snip~

Another policeman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution, said the guards were masked and wearing khaki uniforms. He said one of them left the vehicle and started to shoot at the car while another opened fire from the open back door of a separate SUV.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071009/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=Ain4ZZJYK6kP0GneArxbjXGs0NUE

[maddezmom]

9. US Embassy Spokeswoman said an American NGO may have been involved

The State Department said the convoy was not protecting U.S. diplomats, but an embassy spokeswoman said an American nongovernmental organization may have been involved.

~snip~



In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said only that the incident did not involve U.S. diplomats. "It was not an American convoy," he said.

"There may be a contractual relationship with a U.S. NGO," U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said. "We're working on clarifying that."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071009/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=Ain4ZZJYK6kP0GneArxbjXGs0NUE

[maddezmom]

10. Dubai-based Unity Resources Group?

It was not clear which security company was involved in Tuesday's shooting. Witnesses said the vehicles sped off in the direction of a base of Dubai-based Unity Resources Group (URG), staffed mainly by Australian security guards.

URG officials in Baghdad referred AFP to a company spokesman in Dubai, who was not reachable.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Killed for defying the occupation of their country or killed b/c they

were viewed as Al-Quaeda?

At this point, the reason means less to me than they were killed. And killed using our tax dollars to pay for the "security" and their weapons.

[monktonman]

5. Probably killed for going to the laundrymat. n/t

[Joanne98]

3. They're not security guards, they're mercenaries!

[Solly Mack]

4. and Bush Inc will somehow blame it on those murdered

[simmonsj811]

7. WOW

Is it now that the lives of the people of Iraq matter??? what about the millions that had to leave there homes, and the million or so that have already been kill th???

[Solly Mack]

8. Got a point? Because you're preaching to a member of the choir

[Robbien]

11. All these diplomats and NGO personnel see this happen and yet

they keep quiet.

What hope does Iraq have if all the international people working there supposedly for the benefit of Iraq see Iraqis being shot down in the streets just because they were in the way.

[antiimperialist]

12. The iraqi govt. wants the blackwater guards to stand trial

...and I agree. They deserve many years in prison.
Lock up these guards who killed these two innocent Iraqi women as well.

[Maven]

13. So many hearts and minds we're winning.

Here's the NYT article.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq.html?ex=1349582400&en=2f34992c25352b00&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Apparently, it's not Blackwater (or so they're reporting so far).

This is what our country represents to the world now.

[RamboLiberal]

14. Outfit called Unity Resources Group

A private security contractor, Unity Resources Group, which has its headquarters in Dubai, confirmed that one of its security teams was involved in a shooting in the Karada neighborhood and was investigating the incident.

An American official in Baghdad said Unity Resources Group was working at the time for RTI International, a nonprofit organization based in North Carolina providing advice for local and city governments, and that RTI was in turn working for the United States Agency for International Development, the government agency coordinating American aid abroad. However, no employees for RTI were in the vehicles in the convoy at the time, according to an RTI spokesman, Patrick Gibbons.

The chief operating officer of Unity Resources Group, Michael Priddin, said the shooting today occurred at around 1:40 p.m. He said the convoy, which was made up of four vehicles, was “approached at speed by a vehicle. That vehicle failed to stop despite an escalation of warnings including hand signals and a signal flare. Finally, shots were fired and it stopped at that point.”

He said the company regretted the incident and was now working with the Iraqi authorities. He said Unity Resources Group was “a Singapore company.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Unity Resources Group Website: http://www.unityresourcesgroup.com/

Unity provides a wide range of critical support services , consulting and training services to organizations undertaking major projects in some of the world's most challenging environments.

Formed in 2000, the company continues to expand from its Group Headquarters in Dubai, establishing a truly global reach, and a diverse client base, spanning government, non-government and multi-national business sectors.

Our comprehensive, outcome-oriented approach , coupled with a consultative project management style has built Unity a reputation for consistently exceeding client expectations.

At the heart of Unity’s success lie its unique team which has extensive experience in both commercial and non-financial risk management.Drawn from across the globe, the company is able to ensure that every solution generated remains attuned to the specific needs of every customer and their operating environment.

http://www.unityresourcesgroup.com/aboutunity.html

[cal04]

15. Security guards killed before(Australian Security co.)

Employees of an Australian security company involved in a fatal shooting of two women in Iraq yesterday have been previously investigated over the shooting death of an Iraqi-born Australian.

The Australian head of the Unity Resources Group, Michael Priddin, confirmed the company had been involved in Tuesday's shooting incident.

Initial accounts of the shooting - from company statements, witnesses and others - suggested the guards opened fire as a car failed to heed warnings to stop and drifted closer to the convoy near a Unity facility in central Baghdad's Karrada district.

Two Iraqi Christian women - including one who used the car, a white sedan, as an unofficial taxi to raise money for her family - died in the shooting.

"We deeply regret this incident and we will continue to pass on further information when the facts have been verified and the necessary people and authorities have been notified," Mr Priddin, whose company is mainly staffed by Australian guards, told ABC Radio this morning.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/guards-killed-before/2007/10/10/1191695960053.html