A South African security guard working for the United States-led coalition was shot dead in the Sunni Muslim district of Al-Adhamiyah in Baghdad on Thursday, Iraq’s interim health minister said.
”The person who was killed today in Baghdad was a South African employed as a security agent for the coalition,” Khodayyir Abbas said. ”He was protecting members of the coalition who worked at the Iraqi Health Ministry.”
”As far as I know, he was in a shop with an Iraqi interpreter from the ministry to buy meet and other food products. An unknown assailant opened fire on him and his interpreter and fled,” he said, without naming the South African.
Earlier police had identified the victim as a Spanish civilian.
A local policeman said US troops rushed to the area, put the body in a plastic bag and took it away.
”I saw a foreigner emerge from his black Land Cruiser to enter the Hadaba supermarket with an Iraqi who was probably his interpreter,” said Bilal Karim, who runs a grocery store near the scene of the shooting.
”A few minutes later, a man with his face covered by a scarf entered the store and then I heard automatic weapon fire.
”The assailant calmly left and people gathered in front of the supermarket. The interpreter was wounded along with a vendor who was hit by five bullets in the legs and abdomen,” he added.
He said police arrived 15 minutes later and took the victims to hospital. One of the officers told the crowd that the dead man was a Spaniard.
Another witness said he was impressed by the assailant’s self-control.
”His face was covered by a red scarf, he was wearing grey slacks and a white shirt and drove a red Opel,” he said.
”He entered the shop, killed the foreigner and wounded his interpreter as the latter tried to hide,” said Alaa Hussein, a vendor.
The assailant then headed toward the car of the South African, tried to break the window with the butt of his Kalashnikov assault rifle to take what was inside but failed to do so and left, the vendor added. — Sapa-AFP