Iraqis taking hard-line on security guards

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Iraqi officials are cracking down on shootings and other abuses by foreign security guards, a report said.

The crackdown will include charges against foreign security guards in the wounding of a woman Monday by a convoy carrying foreign laborers through Baghdad, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A home video of the shooting was circulating around the city, adding fuel to Iraqi outrage, the report said.

The video, apparently shot from the bed of a truck transporting the workers, shows a crowd being kept at bay by warning shots, the newspaper said, and about a dozen people lie in the truck under blankets while soldiers stand guard.

The video shows one soldier hitting them with a stick while being urged on by the crowd.

Officials arrested 42 people, the Times said, including a number of foreigners, 10 Iraqis and some security guards. Iraqi authorities refused to say whether the workers would be charged, or just security guards.