Washington - A US security firm whose guards were involved in a deadly shooting last month in Iraq has fired more than 120 employees for misconduct during the course of the war, according to congressional documents released Monday. Blackwater, which is contracted by the US State Department, fired 28 people for incidents involving weapons and another 25 for alcohol and drug violations. The North Carolina-based firm has sacked 122 employees during its years of guarding convoys and buildings in Iraq.
The congressional report, based on documents obtained from Blackwater and the US State Department, was published a day before the head of the firm, Erik Prince, and US officials are to testify before lawmakers.
Blackwater was thrown into the spotlight after its security personnel guarding a convoy opened fire September 16 in Baghdad, leaving 11 people dead. The Iraqi government maintains the dead were innocent civilians, while Blackwater says they were armed militants.
The US and Iraqi governments have set up a joint commission to investigate the role of foreign security firms in Iraq. The two countries are conducing separate investigations into the Blackwater incident.
The security firm has been involved in 195 "escalation of force" incidents since 2005, according to company documents cited by the congressional report. More than 80 per cent of the time, the Blackwater guards opened fire first.
The congressional inquiry revealed other questionable acts carried out by Blackwater's security staff, which largely consists of former police officers or special-operations soldiers.
In December 2006, a 26-year-old, allegedly drunken Blackwater contractor shot killed one of then-Iraqi vice president Adil Abd al- Mahdi's security guards. Blackwater fired the employee, but he was allowed to return to the United States within days, without prosecution.
The State Department urged the company to compensate the guard's family, and Blackwater paid 15,000 dollars to quickly settle the issue.
The report also faulted the State Department for not properly overseeing Blackwater and other security firms, and charged that the department appears more interested in persuading Blackwater to compensate the families to "put the matter behind us" than to carry out an investigation or ensure that the firm and its employees are being held accountable.
Blackwater has received more than 1 billion dollars in US federal contracts since 2001 worldwide.
