Iraq ordered the cancellation on Monday of the operating licence of US security firm Blackwater after it was involved in a shootout in Baghdad that killed eight people, a senior official told AFP.
Blackwater offers personal security to US civilian officials working in Iraq.
"The interior minister (Jawad al-Bolani) has issued an order to cancel Blackwater's licence and the company is prohibited from operating anywhere in Iraq," interior ministry director of operations Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said.
"We have opened a criminal investigation against the group who committed the crime."
On Sunday, a US diplomatic convoy was involved in a shootout in Baghdad's Al-Yarmukh neighbourhood which killed at least eight people and wounded 13.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki condemned what he called the "criminal" response of the contractors guarding the convoy which the US embassy said had come under attack from insurgents.
Blackwater representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said she was unable to confirm the cancellation of Blackwater's licence.
Hope they are tossed out...BushCo would be shatting all over itself if the over 100,000 Blackwater employees were suddenly unemployed.
Crossposted at Bring it On!
Tags: Blackwater, Mercenaries
