How many contract workers/mercenaries have died in Iraq ?

[Drift3r]

Does anyone have a clue or guess about the number of deaths of American paid mercenary/contract workers are ? I was watching CNN and listening to two guys who were hired just to drive convoy trucks in Iraq talk about their experience and it was not pretty. Anyone care to make an estimate ? From what I here these guys get paid a lot of money ( 1k-5k a week ) depending on what they do. They also have pretty much a very lose set of rules of engagement. Most are ex-Soldiers usually special forces guys who can't let go of what they had when they were in the armed forces. For some reason the media has not really covered this aspect of the war as much as the regular soldier part of what's going on in Iraq.


http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20031006-122420-5426r.htm

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5976.htm

 

[GrGr]

Deaths of scores of mercenaries not reported

By Robert Fisk and Patrick Cockburn

April 13 2004: "The Star" Baghdad - At least 80 foreign mercenaries - security guards recruited from the United States, Europe and South Africa and working for American companies - have been killed in the past eight days in Iraq.

Lieutenant-General Mark Kimmitt admitted on Tuesday that "about 70" American and other Western troops had died during the Iraqi insurgency since April 1 but he made no mention of the mercenaries, apparently fearful that the full total of Western dead would have serious political fallout.

He did not give a figure for Iraqi dead, which, across the country may be as high as 900.

At least 18 000 mercenaries, many of them tasked to protect US troops and personnel, are now believed to be in Iraq, some of them earning $1 000 (about R6 300) a day. But their companies rarely acknowledge their losses unless - like the four American murdered and mutilated in Fallujah three weeks ago - their deaths are already public knowledge.

etc.

--------


link

 

[Gaard]

April 13 2004: "The Star" Baghdad - At least 80 foreign mercenaries - security guards recruited from the United States, Europe and South Africa and working for American companies - have been killed in the past eight days in Iraq

Damn, 80?! If that's true, that's a lot. (even if it's untrue it's a lot )