Blackwater guards indicted

Washington: Five Blackwater Worldwide Security guards have been charged in a September 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead and raised questions about the US government's use of security contractors in combat zones, according to two officials familiar with the case.

The guards, all former US military personnel, worked as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect US diplomats and other nonmilitary officials in Iraq.

Federal prosecutors obtained the indictment Thursday, and it was sealed. Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia, declined to comment on the investigation. The exact nature of the charges could not be determined. The five security guards are expected to surrender to authorities on Monday, the officials said.

Authorities have not publicly identified the guards.

The indictment caps a year-long investigation into the shooting, which occurred on September 16, 2007, when the guards' convoy arrived in Baghdad's bustling Nisoor Square.

An Iraqi government investigation concluded that the security contractors opened fire without provocation. And the US military and initial findings by the FBI found that Blackwater guards were the only ones who fired their weapons that day. Blackwater has said its guards were fired upon and acted in self-defence.

A federal grand jury in Washington has heard testimony from dozens of witnesses, including some Iraqis, the sources said.

Blackwater is not a target of the investigation but has been paying the guards' legal bills, sources said. Anne E. Tyrrell, a company spokeswoman, said "it would be inappropriate to comment on anything under seal." But she added: "Based on the information available to us, however, we do not believe criminal violations occurred."

"If it is determined that an individual acted improperly," she said, "Blackwater would support holding that person accountable."

Responding to widespread anger among Iraqis over the shooting, the country's political leaders have insisted that contractors be held more accountable under Iraqi law. They have been exempt under a 2003 decree by the US occupation administration.

The Iraqi parliament recently approved a security pact that allows foreign security contractors to be tried under Iraqi law for crimes.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the men generally face assault charges - allegations that do not require prosecutors to prove that the guards actually wounded or killed any Iraqis. They will have to prove only that they fired their weapons in an attempt to harm them, the sources said.