Brawl shooting 'was self-defence'

Danny Fitzsimons, who could face the death penalty if convicted, was arrested by Iraqi police after the attack in Baghdad's International Zone on Sunday morning.

Speaking through an interpreter, Fitzsimons, who worked for security firm ArmorGroup Iraq, told The Times: "I got into a fight with two colleagues, they beat me and that's when I reached for my weapon."

"They had me pinned down. I received a real beating. I was drunk and it happened very quickly."

The two men shot dead were Paul McGuigan, from Scotland, and Australian Darren Hoare, both of whom worked for ArmorGroup Iraq.

It was reported that Fitzsimons had appeared before an Iraqi judge at a brief hearing on Monday and had confessed to killing Mr McGuigan and Mr Hoare.

Interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf told The Guardian: "The British guard admitted his crime of killing the two men. He remains under investigation in the Green Zone on charges of premeditated murder. He faces the death penalty or life imprisonment, depending on the evidence."

A friend of Fitzsimons, named only as Richard, told ITV News that the former soldier was affected by his experiences in Iraq.

He said: "He's not a cold-blooded murderer, he's just someone who has basically been in a warzone and is reaping the effects. He has been through some very tragic and hardcore events and, you know, seeing friends killed and colleagues killed has an effect on you."

He added that Fitzsimons should be tried in the UK because an Iraqi court would not take into account his mental health issues.