Iraqi prime minister disputes Blackwater USA version of shooting

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister today disputed North Carolina-based Blackwater USA's version of a weekend shooting that left at least eleven people dead.

The prime minister says he will not tolerate what he called "the killing of our citizens in cold blood."

Land travel by U.S. diplomats and other civilian officials outside the Green Zone is blocked again today. Iraqi authorities ordered Blackwater to stop working as an investigation continues into the incident.

The Moyock, North Carolina-based firm is the main provider of bodyguards for American government civilian employees in Iraq.

Blackwater says its guards returned fire against armed insurgents who were threatening American diplomats.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman says the contractors involved in the shooting are still in Iraq.

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