On
September 17,
2007, Blackwater's license to operate in Iraq was revoked, resulting from a highly contentious incident during which some number of Iraqis were killed. Early reports put the number of dead at 28,
[40], but that number was eventually lowered to eight.
[41]. The fatalities occurred while a Blackwater Private Security Detail (PSD) was escorting a convoy of US State Department vehicles en route to a meeting in western
Baghdad with
United States Agency for International Development officials.
According to Blackwater, a
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) detonated close to the meeting point.
[42]. The security team then evacuated the officials as the convoy passed through
Nissor Square, between the
Sunni controlled
al-Mansour and
al-Yarmukh neighborhoods, it was attacked. According to Blackwater VP Marty Strong, it was hit with "a large explosive device" and "repeated small arms fire" disabling one of the vehicles.
[42] Several sources have stated that the explosion was caused by a mortar round, though this is not reflected in the Department of State incident report.
[43][44] A State Department report states that eight to ten attackers then opened fire "from multiple nearby locations, with some aggressors dressed in civilian apparel and others in Iraqi police uniforms". As the convoy tried to escape, its route was blocked by insurgents armed with
machine guns. According to the incident report, the attack occurred at 12:08pm and goes on to state that "The team returned fire to several identified targets" before leaving the area, and that a second convoy en route to help was "blocked/surrounded by several Iraqi police and Iraqi national guard vehicles and armed personnel".
[45] A
US Army convoy, possibly the same one delayed by Iraqi forces, arrived approximately a half hour later, backed by air cover, to escort the convoy back to the
Green Zone.
[42] A Blackwater helicopter was also present at some point during the attack, and according to a
Washington Post employee, it fired several times from the air, although Blackwater has denied this.
[46]
According to an Iraqi investigation into the events at Nissor Square, as the convoy drew close to Nissor Square, a car, driving very slowly, on the wrong side of the road, ignored a police officer's whistle to clear a path for the convoy. Shortly after this, the security team fired warning shots, and then lethal fire. Sound bombs were also fired. Iraqi Army soldiers, mistaking the sound-bombs for explosions, opened fire at the Blackwater team, to which the Blackwater team responded.
[47][48] A
Reuters report showed some of the vehicles which were left at the scene.
[49]
Iraqi Brigadier-General
Abdul-Karim Khalaf has stated that a mortar landed close to the convoy and said the US firm had 'opened fire randomly at citizens'. Among those killed was one policeman. No State Department officials were wounded or killed.
[50] The State Department had not been notified of the Iraqi government's decision to revoke the license, and declined to speculate how it might affect State Department activities. Many doubt that the Iraqi government will have the resolve to revoke Blackwater's license over the long term due to Blackwater's political influence and other factors. Retired Marine Lt. Col. Bill Cowan, an independent military analyst and co-chairman of security consulting firm WVC3 Group, was quoted on September 17, 2007, by the Associated Press as saying: "You can bet the U.S. embassy is doing backflips right now pressuring the Iraqis not to revoke their license."
[51]
Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said "the investigation is ongoing, and all those responsible for Sunday's killing will be referred to Iraqi justice." Iraqi authorities have issued previous complaints about shootings by private military contractors, but Iraqi courts did not have the authority to bring contractors to trial without the consent of their home country, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
[52].
AP - Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.
