British Contractor Shoots Two Colleagues in Iraq

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, August 9, 2009; 9:45 AM

BAGHDAD, Aug. 9 -- A British private security contractor was taken into custody by Iraqi authorities in Baghdad's Green Zone early Sunday after he fatally shot two colleagues, Iraqi officials said.

The gunman, identified as Danny Fitzsimmons, also shot an Iraqi as he attempted to flee the compound, according Iraqi officials and two other sources familiar with the incident. The Iraqi man was critically wounded, Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, a spokesman at Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

"I can confirm the deaths of two ArmorGroup Iraq employees in the early hours of this morning in a firefight incident," company spokesman Patrick Toyne-Sewell said in an e-mail.

He identified the slain men as Paul McGuigan, a Briton, and Darren Hoare, an Australian. Toyne-Sewell said their relatives have been notified.

"We are working closely with Iraqi authorities to investigate the circumstances of their deaths," Toyne-Sewell said.

Khalaf said Fitzsimmosns got into a dispute with colleagues as they were drinking.

"They got into an argument and he started shooting his colleagues," Khalaf said.

Khalaf said Fitzsimmosns is being held at an Iraqi police detention facility.

The U.S. military and the British Embassy in Baghdad said they were familiar with the report, but provided no additional information.


"We are aware of a shooting incident involving foreign nationals in Baghdad," Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement. "The Iraqi police are investigating."

The case could mark the first time a foreign security contractor faces trial in Iraq on murder charges.

The presence of foreign security contractors in Iraq is controversial because some have been accused of using unnecessary force against Iraqis.

Most foreign contractors were exempt from prosecution under Iraqi law until January 1, when a security agreement between Iraq and the United States replaced the United Nations resolution that gave them broad immunity.

Special correspondent Qais Mizher contributed to this report.