Civilian traffic in and out of Baghdad's "safe zone" was halted by U.S. officials in the wake of the shooting deaths of civilians by a private security firm.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said government civilian ground movement had been ordered stopped after an incident Sunday in which employees of security contractor Blackwater USA killed eight Iraqi civilians while defending a U.S. diplomatic convoy under attack.

Fourteen other people were wounded in the incident, which is under investigation by the Iraqi government and the State Department, CNN said.

The so-called Green Zone is heavily fortified and is home to the Iraqi Parliament and the U.S. Embassy.

Iraq ordered Blackwater to cease operations, although the State Department said the company was still active, the report said. / / Copyright 2007 by United Press International 


Publication date: 19 September 2007   

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