Ex-soldier jailed for Iraq killings

Danny Fitzsimons

A security contractor from Middleton has been jailed for 20 years for killing two colleagues.

Danny Fitzsimons is the first Westerner to be convicted in an Iraqi court since the war began in 2003.

Fitzsimons admitted killing Paul McGuigan, from the Scottish Borders, and Darren Hoare, from Australia, in August 2009.

The former paratrooper was also convicted of attempting to kill an Iraqi guard.

The 30-year-old said he had been suffering from post-traumatic stress.

In handing down the verdict, the head judge of the three-judge panel said Fitzsimons' mental condition was taken into consideration when deciding on the sentence, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Fitzsimons was accompanied by his Iraqi lawyer, Tariq Harb; his family and British lawyer, who attended a court session, last week, were not in attendance.

"This is a very good sentence. I saved him from the gallows," Harb told reporters afterward. Fitzsimons now has 30 days to appeal, which Harb said he would do.

Fitzsimons, Mr McGuigan and Mr Hoare had all been working for British security firm ArmorGroup, based in the Iraqi capital's fortified Green Zone, at the time of the shooting.