Somedude21
09-20-2007, 10:56 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070920/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_070920180105;_ylt=AnW1m45AIlVV.HtT6ReIvYFkM3w
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - The No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq said Thursday that a seven-month-old security operation has cut violence in Baghdad by half, but he acknowledged that civilians were still dying at too high a rate.
The comments came as relations between the U.S. and Iraqi governments remained strained in the wake of Sunday's shooting involving Blackwater USA security guards, which Iraqi officials said left at least 11 people dead. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki suggested the U.S. Embassy find another company to protect its diplomats.
The Moyock, N.C.-based company has said its employees acted "lawfully and appropriately" in response to an armed attack against a State Department convoy.
But a survivor who said he was three cars away from the convoy denied the American guards were under fire, claiming they apparently started shooting to disperse more than two dozen cars that were stuck in a traffic jam.
"It is not true when they say that they were attacked. We did not hear any gunshots before they started shooting," lawyer Hassan Jabir told The Associated Press from his hospital bed.
Full article provided in link above.
By KATARINA KRATOVAC, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - The No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq said Thursday that a seven-month-old security operation has cut violence in Baghdad by half, but he acknowledged that civilians were still dying at too high a rate.
The comments came as relations between the U.S. and Iraqi governments remained strained in the wake of Sunday's shooting involving Blackwater USA security guards, which Iraqi officials said left at least 11 people dead. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki suggested the U.S. Embassy find another company to protect its diplomats.
The Moyock, N.C.-based company has said its employees acted "lawfully and appropriately" in response to an armed attack against a State Department convoy.
But a survivor who said he was three cars away from the convoy denied the American guards were under fire, claiming they apparently started shooting to disperse more than two dozen cars that were stuck in a traffic jam.
"It is not true when they say that they were attacked. We did not hear any gunshots before they started shooting," lawyer Hassan Jabir told The Associated Press from his hospital bed.
Full article provided in link above.