BAGHDAD, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. military reports appear to support the Iraqi government's contention that private Blackwater USA security guards wantonly opened fire on civilians.

BOGOTA, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says removing government contractor Blackwater USA from Iraq is not practical.

SEATTLE, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A former Blackwater USA employee suspected in the killing of an Iraqi vice president's bodyguard reportedly is a former Army paratrooper who lives in Seattle.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- A bill that would bring contractors working overseas for the U.S. government under civilian court jurisdiction moved through Congress Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department asked the FBI for help in the department's probe into the Sept. 16 shooting incident in Iraq involving private security personnel.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The death of an Iraqi guard at the hands of a Blackwater private security guard was scrutinized by a congressional panel examining the firm's presence in Iraq.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. State Department records show that employees of Blackwater USA are involved in two times as many shootings as those of other security firms in Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Some members of the U.S. military in Iraq say the role of private security guards should be scaled back after 11 Iraqi civilians were gunned down.

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. authorities are investigating whether employees of the security firm Blackwater smuggled weapons into Iraq, CNN reported Saturday.