Iraq to bar Blackwater over ‘excessive use of force’

IRAQ said yesterday it will bar Blackwater Worldwide from providing security protection for US diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians.

The move will deprive American diplomats of their main protection force in Iraq.

The decision not to issue Blackwater an operating licence was due to “improper conduct and excessive use of force,” said Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf.