Blackwater guards shot Iraqis without provocation

Guards from the US security firm Blackwater had not been shot at before they opened fire last month on Iraqi civilians in Baghdad, killing 17 people, according to an official Iraqi investigation into the deaths. The inquiry, ordered by the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, described the incident as a deliberate crime and called for those responsible for the deaths to be prosecuted. Previously, the death toll from the controversial incident on Sept. 16 had been put at 11. The shooting prompted a wave of outrage in Iraq about the activities of private US security firms protecting diplomats and workers, and calls for those responsible for the deaths to be tried. The new investigation said 17 people were killed and 23 wounded when Blackwater staff opened fire in a square in Baghdad. Blackwater -- which has not responded to the latest accusations has said its guards reacted lawfully to an attack on one of its convoys. An Iraqi government spokesman said that the investigation had found "no evidence that the Blackwater convoy came under fire directly or indirectly." "It was not hit even by a stone," he said. Iraq's cabinet would combine the findings with those of a joint US-Iraqi commission reviewing such security operations "and subsequently adopt the legal procedures to hold this company accountable," he added. A US embassy spokeswoman in Baghdad refused to say whether Washington would consider handing over any Blackwater staff for prosecution. "This and other matters will be discussed by the joint commission as they proceed with their work, [so it is] best not to prejudge the outcome of their discussions at this point," Mirembe Nantongo told the AFP news agency. The US has launched a series of reviews into both the shooting incident and the wider issue of private security contractors. FBI investigators arrived in Baghdad to look into the deaths, while Patrick Kennedy, the envoy of the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is looking into security for US officials in Iraq. A US congressional report released last week said Blackwater had been involved in at least 195 shooting incidents in Iraq since 2005. In 84% of those cases, it said, Blackwater personnel were the first to open fire. Erik Prince, Blackwater's founder, was called last week to testify about the Sept. 16 incident before a congressional committee. He insisted the patrol had only opened fire when it came under attack.