Joint US-Iraqi probe into Blackwater incident

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Source: CCTV.com | 09-20-2007 15:43

A private security guard paid for by the Shiite community, left, guards a demonstration denouncing Thursday's suicide bomb attack on a funeral being held in the courtyard of a Shiite mosque which killed 50 and wounded over 100, in the northern town of Mosul in Iraq Saturday, March 12, 2005. (AP Photo)

The US State Department has announced that a joint US-Iraqi commission will be set up to investigate the Blackwater incident. On Sunday, guards from the US private security company shot and killed at least 11 Iraqi civilians, claiming they were protecting a US diplomatic convoy.

A Deputy Spokesman of the US State Department said on Wednesday that the Blackwater incident will not be the sole concern of the investigation. The operation of private security companies in Iraq will also be examined.

Tom Casey, Dep. Spokesman of US State Department, said, "The government of the United States and Iraq have agreed to establish a joint commission to examine issues of security and safety that are related to US government-affiliated personal security detail operations in Iraq."

The size and composition of the commission have yet to be determined. But its members are charged with assessing the results of both US and Iraqi investigations of Sunday's incident. They are expected to reach a common conclusion about what happened and recommend possible changes to the way in which the US embassy and its contractors handle security.

The results of the investigations are still unknown. But in Iraq, the government and the public are enraged. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki disputed the version of events given so far by the North Carolina-based security company.