BAGHDAD, Sept. 17 -- A U.S. State Department motorcade came under attack in Baghdad on Sunday, prompting security contractors guarding the convoy to open fire in the streets. At least nine civilians were killed, according to Iraqi officials.
The shootout occurred in the downtown neighborhood of Mansour at midday after an explosion detonated near the convoy, police said. In response, the security contractors "escalated the force to defend themselves," a U.S. Embassy official in Baghdad said...
...A Washington Post employee in the area at the time of the shooting witnessed security company helicopters firing into the streets near Nisoor Square in Mansour. Witnesses said they saw dead and wounded people on the pavement.
The U.S. Embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the incident was under investigation and that he could provide no further details.
The incident punctuated a day of violence that left at least 40 people dead across Iraq, police said.
Return on Success indeed.
UPDATE: We'll see how enforceable and real this turns out to be, but it was Blackwater USA contractors and they have had their license pulled.
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