Australian guards kill Iraqi bodyguard in mishap

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL151113.htm

Australian guards kill Iraqi bodyguard in mishap

BAGHDAD, June 21 (Reuters) - Australian security guards protecting a trade delegation in Baghdad mistakenly opened fire on the bodyguards of the Iraqi trade minister on Wednesday, killing one and wounding three, witnesses said.

The incident could potentially embarrass Canberra, which has been trying to improve trade ties with Iraq after Baghdad suspended dealings with Australia's monopoly wheat exporter over large scale kickbacks it allegedly paid to Saddam Hussein.

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"The (Australian) convoy left the ministry. Our convoy followed them. They thought the driver was trying to pass and they shot and killed him and wounded three guards and two civilians," Salim al-Bahadiry, a bodyguard for the trade minister, told Reuters at the scene.

Reuters footage showed the Iraqi bodyguards' sports utility vehicle crashed into a pole, its windscreen peppered with bullet holes.

Australian security guards protecting a trade delegation in Baghdad have mistakenly opened fire on the bodyguards of the Iraqi Trade Minister, killing one and wounding three, according to witnesses.

The incident could potentially embarrass the Australian Government, which has been trying to improve trade ties with Iraq after Baghdad suspended dealings with Australia's monopoly wheat exporter over large scale kickbacks it allegedly paid to Saddam Hussein.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told Reuters the shooting was under investigation.

The shooting took place as the trade delegation left the offices of Trade Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudany in the capital's western Mansour district.

"The (Australian) convoy left the ministry. Our convoy followed them. They thought the driver was trying to pass and they shot and killed him and wounded three guards and two civilians," Salim al-Bahadiry, a bodyguard for the Trade Minister, told Reuters at the scene.

Reuters footage showed the Iraqi bodyguards' sports utility vehicle crashed into a pole, its windscreen peppered with bullet holes.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200606/s1668789.htm