Foreign laborers face threat in Iraq

Labor practices in Iraq are being called into question as contractors hire poor non-Iraqis to work low wage jobs in a deadly environment.
The Los Angeles Times reports 255 contractors have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. One third are from developing countries.
U.S. military rules require the contractors to hire foreign workers for fear that local labor would increase the risk of insurgent attacks.
The Philippines and Nepal have banned citizens from working in Iraq, but with little regulation labor brokers are finding loopholes and getting workers into Iraq.
Poor workers pay brokers a fee to get them a job in Iraq. Once there, they are left with little protections.
Last year, 19-year-old Nepalese worker Ramesh Khadka was executed by insurgents on his way to a job for a subcontractor to U.S. based KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp.
He should be covered by death benefits payable to his family, but family members say they have received no money.
KBR said it will review the case.