How many contractors have been killed in Iraq?
The exact number is not known; not all companies report casualty numbers. In June 2005, when the film originally aired, Erinys said it had lost three employees on its contract with the Army Corps of Engineers, and an additional 16 employees who were killed guarding Iraqi oil infrastructure. KBR, which employs over 50,000 in the region, told FRONTLINE that 65 of its employees, including 16 truckers, have been killed since the beginning of the war. Update: In November 2005, Knight Ridder obtained insurance-claim statistics from the Department of Labor and reported 428 civilian contractor deaths and 3,963 other casualties. However, the story quoted two companies — Halliburton and L-3 Communications — as saying their casualty figures were higher than those reported by the Labor Department for their companies.
