BAGHDAD – A civilian contractor was shot and killed Sunday on an American military base in the Iraqi city of Tikrit and a soldier has been detained, the U.S. military said.
The contractor, whose name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was shot at 8:30 a.m. at Camp Speicher, the military said in a statement.
Maj. Derrick Cheng, a public affairs officer, said he could not divulge the name of the contractor's company or any other details about him.
He did say, however, that a soldier had been detained in the incident.
"We offer our sincere condolences to the family of the individual," he said.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, Cheng said.
The U.S. military makes wide use of contractors in Iraq for security, technical support and supply functions.
As of June 30, 1,395 civilian employees of U.S. government contractors had been killed in Iraq, according to an AP count.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox