Iraqi Translators Face Death to Work for U.S.

[Barrett808]

Iraqi Translators Face Death to Work for U.S.
Mon May 31, 8:01 AM ET
By Tom Perry

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - When Iraqis employed by the U.S.-led authority running their country arrive at work they face a sharp reminder of the deadly risks they run.

A black banner tied to a checkpoint at an entrance to the occupation authority's Baghdad headquarters announces the murder of "the martyr Mohamed Ghazi al-Saudi." His photo, stapled to sandbag fortifications, flutters in the breeze.

Colleagues say Saudi, who worked as a translator at a gate to the sprawling compound known as the "Green Zone," was shot dead outside his home.

"He was expecting death every day because he was working with the Americans," said an Iraqi man who had taken up Saudi's old position alongside U.S. troops at the checkpoint.

Saudi's replacement, who declined to give his name, said he had become more cautious since his colleague's death. "I expect to be killed at any moment. But I have to work to live."

(more)

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