Blackwater rescues Polish ambassador after assassination attempt

Elite Blackwater security men rescued Poland's ambassador to Iraq after a deadly terrorist attack trapped the NATO diplomat near the Polish embassy in Baghdad.

Click on the image to view a EuroNews video of the extraction.

Initial reports conflict or contain different details, but the Associated Press reports that three bombs exploded near or under the convoy of Polish Ambassador Edward Pietrzyk, destroying three armored vehicles and setting the ambassador's car afire. The terrorists then shot at the vehicles in what appeared to be a well-planned attack in one of Baghdad's safest neighborhoods.

At least 10 people were wounded, in the October 3 incident, including four members of Pietrzyk's Polish security detail, according to early reports. One of the ambassador's security guards died of his wounds. Polish guards reportedly wounded an Iraqi taxi driver when they returned fire.

The American Embassy dispatched a Blackwater helicopter team to save Ambassador Pietrzyk and his people. Reuters also shows the Blackwater rescue in a video report, but does not credit the company. The above photo is of a Blackwater "Little Bird" similar to the craft used in the rescue.

Readers of the Washington Post would have no idea the incident even occurred. Today's paper has a headline splashed across the top of the front page with a heartbreaking story about people who died in the September 16 incident in Baghdad. Buried back on page 16 is a three-paragraph item about the ambassador being attacked, but not a word about the rescuers. Kind of telling for a newspaper that has invested so many resources into reporting negatively about Blackwater.