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Iraq has informed the US embassy in Baghdad that the operating license of private military company Blackwater will not be renewed.
Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said, "The contract is finished and will not be renewed by order of the Minister of the Interior ... It is because of the shooting incident in 2007."
An investigation revealed that 17 Iraqis were killed and 20 others were injured when Blackwater guards escorting a US diplomatic convoy in Baghdad opened fire on civilians in 2007.
The exit order comes as a major blow to the North Carolina-based company, which is contracted by the US State Department to protect American interests in Iraq.
It is not yet clear when Blackwater guards will be ordered to leave Iraq and whether they will be allowed to continue with their duties before the issuance of the exit order.
Meanwhile, an unnamed American official confirmed that the US embassy had been made aware of the Blackwater situation and was now making new security arrangements.
"We don't have specifics about dates. We are working with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision," CNN quoted the official as saying.
Blackwater has been accused of having a cowboy mentality and a shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach when carrying out security duties in Iraq.
It is not yet clear when Blackwater guards will be ordered to leave Iraq and whether they will be allowed to continue with their duties before the issuance of the exit order.
Meanwhile, an unnamed American official confirmed that the US embassy had been made aware of the Blackwater situation and was now making new security arrangements.
"We don't have specifics about dates. We are working with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision," CNN quoted the official as saying.
Blackwater has been accused of having a cowboy mentality and a shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach when carrying out security duties in Iraq.
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