Security Contractors to US State Department kill 2 Kurds in taxi shoot up in Kirkuk

Meanwhile the Washington Post report Feb 9th 2006

State Department Contractors Kill 2 Civilians in N. Iraq

By Jonathan Finer / Washington Post Foreign Service / Thursday, February 9, 2006; Page A18

BAGHDAD, Feb. 8 -- Private security workers under contract with the State Department shot and killed two Iraqi civilians Tuesday in the restive northern city of Kirkuk, police, U.S. officials and relatives of the dead said Wednesday.

Gunmen in a convoy of three dark-colored GMC sport-utility vehicles opened fire on a taxi north of downtown Kirkuk, killing two men, both ethnic Kurds, Capt. Honer Ahmed of the Kirkuk police said.

"Contract security personnel employed by the Department of State were involved in an aggressive vehicle incident on Feb. 7 in Rahimawa neighborhood of Kirkuk," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. "Two civilians died and one was injured. We've launched an investigation and it is ongoing."

The embassy would not name the security company.

Maj. Gen. Sherko Shakir, the Kirkuk police chief, said U.S. forces took the contractors into custody for interrogation.

In an e-mailed response to written questions, Maj. Jeffrey Allen, a spokesman for the Army's 101st Airborne Division, which is responsible for security in the city, wrote that U.S. soldiers "met with local police officials to reassure them that they will be standing by to support the State Department and contractor's investigations, and will continue to work with the Iraqi Police and other Iraqi Security Forces to improve the overall security situation in the region."

Iraqi government officials and U.S. commanders have condemned what they have termed indiscriminate and unpunished shootings of Iraqi civilians by some of the estimated 25,000 private security contractors operating throughout the country.

This is of course a re-run of the Aegis "trohy video" that erupted late last year (Note the US Embassy refuse to name the company involved in the above incident). Those interested can go to Corp Watch and read of the financial success of Tim Spicer's Aegis company who expect to post record profits any day on turnover that has soared from £554,000 in 2003, to £15m for 2004 with profits of £772,000 profit. With a £230 Mn contract with the US Government trunover and profits are expected to be healthy.

You can visit the site that exposed the "trophy video" run by ex employees of the gallant captain's company for (lack of) progress on the claimed "internal enquiry" on the video, which still has downloads of the videos available.