British Private security guards shoot three Iraqi civilians

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) —

Guards from a British security firm fired on a taxi in Iraq on Thursday wounding three civilians, police said, in a shooting that will put new pressure on the government to rein in private contractors.
A woman journalist was among the casualties when the guards opened fire after the taxi approached their convoy near the northern oil city of Kirkuk, police said.
"I saw a convoy of three cars pass a taxi and one of the guards took his weapon and opened fire on the taxi," said police officer Hussain Rashid.
"I tried myself to stop the convoy but they didn't pay attention to me. They stopped about 300 metres (yards) from the scene, then they moved," he added.
The US Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that an incident involving one of its security teams, belonging to British company Erinys, had occurred at 10:45 am (0745 GMT) but it only mentioned one injury.