Shooting shines light on murky world of Iraq security

By Paul Tait

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Their helicopters buzz through the Baghdad sky, their patrols bristle with the latest weaponry and their armored vehicles carry the latest hi-tech gadgets.

It's not the U.S. military but another lethal fighting force in Iraq -- private security contractors.

Iraq has vowed to review all local and foreign security contractors, described by critics as mercenaries who act with impunity, after a shooting incident involving U.S. firm Blackwater on Sunday in which 11 people were killed.

It said it will revoke the license of the high-profile Blackwater and prosecute those involved in the incident.

But the government might find it difficult to prosecute the case, and even harder to revoke Blackwater's license because it most probably does not have a current one.

Blackwater said its employees reacted "lawfully and appropriately" to a hostile attack. The Iraqi Interior Ministry says 11 people were killed when Blackwater contractors fired randomly after mortar rounds landed near their convoy.

Security sources in Baghdad say they operate in a murky world of little regulation where few companies hold up-to-date licenses and many bribe their way into work.

The workings of security contractors in Iraq are so unclear that the State Department, whom Blackwater protects in Iraq, was still unable to say more than 48 hours after Sunday's incident whether the company holds a legitimate license.

The U.S. embassy also could not answer questions about the legal status of security contractors, and whether any possible proceedings would be prosecuted under Iraqi or U.S. law.

"TOP COVER"

Based in North Carolina, Blackwater was founded in 1997 by former U.S. Navy SEAL Erik Prince and says it works in two main areas: training and protection.

It says on its Web site (www.blackwaterusa.com) that its vision is to "support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere".

It employs about 1,000 people in Iraq and has an immediately visible presence, its small helicopters buzzing in circles as they provide "top cover" whenever U.S. embassy officials travel around the capital.

Estimates of the number of security contractors employed by mainly U.S. and European firms range between 25,000 and 48,000 in what can appear like multinational militias.

Peruvians man checkpoints around Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Fijians in blue helmets guard the U.N. compound.