US clamps down on security contractors

Washington is clamping down on private security firms operating in Iraq after a series of damaging allegations against them.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has ordered tighter rules on the use of force, improved training, clearer rules of engagement, better co-ordination with the US military and cultural sensitivity training for contractors.

The move follows recommendations in a report into an incident involving the Blackwater security firm on September 16 which saw at least 17 Iraqis shot dead in Baghdad.

The report said: "Our key finding is that prompt measures should be taken to strengthen co-ordination, oversight and accountability aspects of the State Department's security practices in Iraq in order to reduce the likelihood that future incidents will occur that adversely affect the overall mission in Iraq."

Iraqis have complained vociferously about the role of private security contractors and US lawmakers have accused them of being trigger-happy and not accountable under either US or Iraqi law for their actions.

North Carolina-based Blackwater, which employs about 1,000 people in Iraq, has said its guards responded lawfully to a hostile threat.

Dr Rice has already ordered the installation on convoy vehicles run by Blackwater and that diplomatic security agents accompany them on all missions out of the international zone in Baghdad.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.