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Iraqis Detain 5 US Contractors in Murder Probe
(AP)
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Five US contractors have been detained in the investigation of the slaying of another American in Baghdad's Green Zone, officials said today, in what may become the first case of US citizens facing Iraqi justice under a security agreement that took effect this year. But the five have not been charged in the death of Jim Kitterman, 60, a construction company owner whose body was found May 22 in his car in the Green Zone.
The Americans were being held at an Iraqi police station inside the Green Zone "in connection with a joint US-Iraqi investigation" into Kitterman's death, a police spokesman said. A US official familiar with the case said the five were being investigated for allegations other than murder. Embassy officials have visited the men to ensure their rights are respected under Iraqi law, and "the men appeared well," said an embassy spokesman.
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