In case you thought it was only US mercenaries who go around shooting Iraqi civilians, here is the infamous “trophy video” taken by British mercenaries employed by Aegis, showing them shooting up cars that get too close – to an Elvis Presley sound track.
Aegis in September won the largest single security contract yet in Iraq, awarded by the Pentagon to co-ordinate the 20,000 private armed guards working in Iraq, and worth up to $475m (£234m). (Financial Times, Sep 15)
A US military inquiry into the videotapes has been closed, with no further action expected.
Since 2004 Aegis says it has travelled more than 3m miles throughout Iraq and completed more than 20,000 missions. Aegis is run by former army officer Tim Spicer, former chief executive of Sandline International, which was involved in the 1998 “arms to Africa” scandal during the Sierra Leone civil war.
