Green Zone Killing Heightens Security Fears
Killing of American contractor in Baghdad's Green Zone raises security concerns
An American was found dead in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, the U.S. military said Saturday, the apparent victim of an unprecedented slaying that occurred at a time when blast walls are coming down and Iraqi forces are assuming greater control.
Another American, believed to be a civilian contractor, was killed Friday night when a rocket struck the Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy, the military said. It was believed to be the first fatal rocket attack there this year.
Those deaths have raised concerns about security before the June 30 deadline for all U.S. combat troops to pull out of Baghdad and other cities. At least 66 people were killed nationwide in a two-day string of bombings this week.
Iraq assumed control of the Green Zone zone on Jan. 1 under a U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, taking primary responsibility from the Americans for searching vehicles and checking identity papers as entry checkpoints.
The Iraqis have begun removing some of the protective blast falls around the Green Zone — part of a campaign to restore a sense of normalcy as violence in the city has waned.
The U.S. military gave few details of the slaying, saying only that an American was found dead Friday in his car and that Army criminal investigators were handling the case. No further details were released.
An Iraqi security official said the victim had been stabbed in his chest and his throat had been slit. He said the body was found lying near a water tank by drivers who had gone there to fill water delivery trucks Friday morning.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release information.
The victim was identified by his brother as Jim Kitterman, 60, of Houston, Texas, who runs a small construction company based in the Green Zone and had worked in Iraq for about six years.
Although Americans and others have been killed in rocket or mortar attacks in the Green Zone, Kitterman was believed to be the first American ever assassinated there since the protected area was established after the city fell to U.S. forces in April 2003.
