U.S. restricts envoys' travel in Iraq

BAGHDAD — The U.S. on Tuesday suspended all land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials in Iraq outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, amid mounting public outrage over the alleged killing of civilians by the U.S. Embassy's security provider Blackwater USA.

The move came even as the Iraqi government appeared to back down from statements Monday that it had permanently revoked Blackwater's license and would order its 1,000 personnel to leave the country — depriving U.S. diplomats of security protection essential to operating in Baghdad.

The order confines most U.S. officials to a 3.5-square-mile area in the center of the city, meaning they cannot visit U.S.-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter.

Guards reportedly fired

Details of the weekend shootings haven't been released, but The New York Times reported late Tuesday that a preliminary review by Iraq's Ministry of Interior found that Blackwater security guards fired at a car when it did not heed a policeman's call to stop, killing a couple and their infant. Iraqi police say a car bomb exploded near a State Department convoy and that Blackwater guards opened fire.

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense said that 20 Iraqis were killed, higher than the 11 dead reported before.

Two survivors of Sunday's shooting at the busy Baghdad traffic roundabout said Tuesday that the guards fired without provocation, contradicting Blackwater's assertions that they were responding to enemy fire. Hassan Jaber Salma, 50, a lawyer who suffered eight gunshot wounds in the attack, said he and other motorists were attempting to clear a path for the convoy when the Blackwater guards suddenly strafed the line of traffic with gunfire.

Sami Hawas Karim, 42, a taxi driver who was shot in the hip and side, said he, too, had stopped for the convoy when he saw the guards open fire on a car bearing the couple and child. The guards then fired on maintenance workers in the square, the car in front of him, the car behind him and a minibus full of girls.

Their accounts came as Iraqi government officials vowed to introduce legislation next week that would revoke a 2003 U.S. decree exempting private security firms from Iraqi laws.

Such an assertion of independence could put the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on a collision course with the U.S., which is dependent on thousands of private security contractors to supplement the 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Exploiting public rage over Sunday's killings, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that the government ban all 48,000 foreign security contractors.

Iraqi officials said that they would revoke the company's license, but on Tuesday a government spokesman described that revocation as temporary until a full investigation could be completed. The spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, said a joint committee between the Iraqi and U.S. governments would look into what had happened.

"The preliminary report shows there was no shooting against them," al-Dabbagh said, referring to the Blackwater guards. "They should follow an Iraqi standard and Iraqi laws. They cannot have immunity."

Shooting acknowledged

The U.S. Embassy for the first time acknowledged the shooting in a statement that said "an exchange of fire occurred while diplomatic security personnel protecting an embassy motorcade were reacting to a car-bomb in the Mansour district of Baghdad. The incident resulted in deaths and injuries."

That version differed from a statement released Monday by Blackwater. "The 'civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies, and Blackwater personnel returned defensive fire," it said.

Neither of the two survivors interviewed at Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital said he'd heard explosions or gunfire before the Blackwater guards opened fire on cars that had stopped for the convoy to pass.

Both Karim and Salma also said a helicopter was on the scene. Salma said it also fired into the line of cars, contradicting Blackwater's statement that its helicopter didn't open fire.

Al-Dabbagh said that the Ministry of Interior is reviewing the guidelines for all private security companies in Iraq either under contract to the U.S. government and military or to private companies.

3 private security firms

Blackwater is among three private security firms employed by the State Department to protect employees in Iraq, and expelling it would create huge problems for U.S. government operations in this country.

The two other firms, both of which are headquartered in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, are Dyncorp, based in Falls Church, Va., and Triple Canopy, based in Herndon, Va.

A 2004 regulation issued by the U.S. occupation authority granted security contractors full immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. Unlike U.S. military personnel, the civilian contractors are also not subject to U.S. military law either.

Some private security officials have blamed much of the confusion on inefficiency and corruption within the Iraqi government — especially the Ministry of the Interior.

Many security companies have tried to obtain weapons permits from the ministry, only to find the rules constantly changing. That forces security guards to choose between venturing into the streets without protection or running the risk that their weapons might be confiscated at a checkpoint.

U.S. officials arranged an extension of the deadline for weapons permits until the end of the year, although procedures for obtaining them remain unclear.

Iraqis have frequently accused private security guards of abusing their authority, but they have little recourse under U.S. or Iraqi law.

In December, an off-duty Blackwater security adviser shot and killed a bodyguard assigned to Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi. Blackwater quickly flew the contractor back to the United States. No charges were filed.

Also Tuesday, three U.S. soldiers were killed following an explosion near their patrol northeast of Baghdad, the military said. Another soldier was killed in a vehicle accident in the northern province of Nineveh, the military said.