The Iraqi government confirmed on Sunday that it reserves the right to prosecute six security guards of U.S. private security firm Blackwater for their role in killing17 civilians.



"There is information that six of Blackwater security guards have been accused of murdering 17 Iraqi civilians, and are to be prosecuted in Washington," Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesman of the Iraqi government told reporters.



"The Iraqi government confirm that Blackwater security company has committed a crime against the victims and it (government) reserves the right to prosecute them," Dabbagh said in a news conference in Baghdad.



The six guards were working as security contractors for the Blackwater and were assigned to protect a U.S. diplomatic convoy through the Iraqi capital on Sept. 16. The shooting occurred as the convoy arrived at a busy square in central Baghdad and guards tried to stop traffic.



An Iraqi government investigation concluded that the security contractors fired without provocation. Blackwater has said its personnel acted in self-defense.



The foreign security firms working in Iraq are neither subject to the Iraqi law nor governed by U.S. military courts, a situation that giving them the chance to operate with impunity.



Dabbagh stressed that his government would not allow the companies' guards to work with impunity.



"The government would not allow any security firm to have immunity in Iraq," he said.



The firms' immunity, among other issues, was one of the sticking points in the ongoing negotiations over security deal between Iraq and the United States.



Dabbagh also said that talks between the two sides over the security deal that would decide the level of U.S. troops to stay in Iraq, is continuing.



"The talks is underway and the two sides achieved substantial progress, but there is still some points that need more clarification from political authorities on both sides," Dabbagh said.



Source: Xinhua