Baghdad, Iraq – An embarrassing pay dispute between Iraq’s government and a British security firm came to a head Friday and caused the shutdown of Baghdad International Airport, the country’s only reliable and relatively safe link to the outside world.
The Interior Ministry sent troops to reopen the dusty, sprawling stone- and-marble facility but called them back after U.S. forces were deployed at a checkpoint on the dangerous airport highway, notorious for frequent insurgent attacks.
The closure of the French-built airport was believed to have been the first serious public conflict involving a Western contractor since the U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The United States has managed to keep its forces in Iraq – now at about 140,000 – to a minimum by hiring contractors for vast amounts of work the military normally would do. Congress has complained that oversight is lax and that the U.S. government is routinely overcharged.
The New York Times reported on its website late Friday that Global Strategies Group said it had agreed to reopen the airport after a promise by the Iraqi government to pay half the amount owed.
Meanwhile, in Tall Afar, an insurgent bastion near the Syrian border in northwestern Iraq, two simultaneous car bombs Friday killed five Iraqi soldiers. The bodies of 10 men – in civilian clothes, handcuffed and decapitated – were found on the city’s western outskirts, said Iraqi army Capt. Mohammed Ahmed.
U.S. and Iraqi forces have the city surrounded and were expected to launch a major offensive.
The U.S. military reported killing 11 insurgents during raids over the past two days, and an estimated 80 percent of the city’s 200,000 residents have fled. Iraqis claim to have captured 150 foreign fighters from Syria, though the U.S. military has not confirmed that figure.
Iraq issued a statement Friday hinting an operation was imminent.
“In response to the call for help by the people, tribes and government officials in the city of (Tall Afar) … we are taking additional measures to ensure security and stability,” Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said.
In the airport dispute, cooler heads appeared to prevail after the angry threat of force from the Interior Ministry.
“We ordered the forces to pull back after American forces were deployed at the first checkpoint on the road. We did not want to create a confrontation,” said acting Transportation Minister Esmat Amer.
