In the first official figures, the department said at least 231
contractors working for U.S. firms have died in Iraq in 2007. U.S. firms
have comprised the major security and reconstruction contractors in Iraq.
The Labor Department figures were released in response to a request from
Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat. Schakowsky has sought figures on
non-U.S. military casualties in Iraq. So far, about 3,670 U.S. soldiers were
killed in Iraq since March 2003, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The data show the number of cases reported to the [Labor Department],
not the number of injuries or deaths which occurred," Labor Department
official Miranda Chiu wrote in a message to Schakowsky.
The largest military contractor in Iraq was identified as KBR, based in
Houston. KBR, with 50,000 employees and subcontractors, has lost more than
100 employees and subcontractors in deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
The Labor Department also cited injuries among contractors in Iraq. The
department said 4,837 workers missed at least four days of work because of
their injuries.
The number of private contractors in Iraq remains unknown. But officials
estimate that 125,000 contractors — many of them former U.S. and British
soldiers — have been employed in Iraq.
