Sept. 22, 2007 (LPAC)--The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior, much maligned by the U.S. for its alleged corruption and associations with Shiite militias, reported on Friday that it is not only looking into Blackwater's conduct in the incident on Sept. 16, in which Blackwater security guards killed at least 10 Iraqi civilians, but also six other violent episodes involving Blackwater that left at least 10 other Iraqis dead. Those incidents, according to Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, chief spokesman for the ministry, include the killing of three guards at a state-run media complex and the shooting death of an Iraqi journalist outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports today's Washington Post. "These acts - this is what made the Ministry of the Interior stop trusting [Blackwater]," Khalaf said.

Khalaf also indicated that the ministry will press ahead with plans to reign in the activities of private mercenary companies operating in Iraq, with tighter guidelines and licensing requirements. Khalaf said that the new draft legislation calls for severe punishment for those who fail to adhere to the guidelines. Currently, security companies in Iraq are operating under immunity that was granted to them in 2003 by then-U.S. proconsul Paul Bremer.