US guards charged with murdering Iraqi civilians

The United States charged five Blackwater security guards with manslaughter in the 2007 shooting case that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, including children, and sparked mass outrage in Iraq.

The Justice Department said the men were charged with manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and weapons violations.

"The indictment charges five Blackwater security guards with voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter for the shooting in Baghdad, Iraq," said Justice Department spokesman Patrick Rowan.

"In addition, we can report that a sixth guard has pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter for the same shooting," Rowan said.

The charges against the Blackwater security guards come after more than a year of FBI investigations in one of the most high-profile legal cases remaining before President George W. Bush leaves office next month.

North Carolina-based Blackwater, the largest security contractor in Iraq, has said its guards acted lawfully, and in self-defense after their motorcade came under fire. No further comment was immediately available over the weekend.

The five men are decorated military veterans and each has received honors for his service in some of the world's most dangerous places, from Bosnia and Afghanistan to Iraq.

Death sentence

In Iraq relatives of the victims called for the death sentence against the perpetrators of the September 2007 shooting that witnesses said was an unprovoked attack on civilians.

"A death sentence is the least thing ... In addition the director of Blackwater should be taken to trial. He gave them the weapons, this authority to block roads and kill civilians," said Mohammed al-Kinani, whose son was killed that day.

"They killed innocent people and there's no excuse. The most severe penalty U.S. law allows would be just," said Haythem al-Rubaie, whose wife and son were killed in the incident.

The shooting enraged the Iraqi government and Iraqis were also upset in April when the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract to protect U.S. personnel in Baghdad.

A death sentence is the least thing ... In addition the director of Blackwater should be taken to trial. He gave them the weapons, this authority to block roads and kill civilians

Mohammed al-Kinani--who lost his son in the shootings

Painful memories

The news of the case stirred painful memories for Kinani, who was in his car with several family members when it came under fire from Blackwater guards.

Blackwater vehicles had closed the road ahead and traffic had come to a stop, Kinani said. He had heard three or four gun shots. The situation was calm, he said. Then one Iraqi vehicle edged forward as its driver spoke to a policeman.

"When they saw that, they opened fire, with full force, they completely destroyed the car," Kinani said.

Gunfire rained down on the area in front of the Blackwater vehicles, Kinani said, hitting vehicles, the pavement, the traffic light and electricity poles. Car tires exploded and windows shattered as his family cowered in the car.

Kinani said he saw a young man in the car in front of him try to leave his vehicle.

"They riddled his body with bullets. He lay on the side of the road and there was blood all around him. And every minute they'd return and fire at his body," Kinani said.

He tried to dial for help, but a bullet ricocheted off the rear view mirror and smashed the phone from his hand before hitting him in the face, Kinani said.

After about eight to 12 minutes the shooting stopped, said Kinani, who got out of the car. His young nephew, who was in the vehicle, told him his nine year-old son Ali had been killed. Ali was slumped against the passenger door, its window shattered.

"When I opened the door he tumbled out. His brain fell between my feet," Kinani said, breaking down in tears.

They riddled his body with bullets. He lay on the side of the road and there was blood all around him. And every minute they'd return and fire at his body

Kinani

"I don't want your $20,000"

Kinani and Rubaie said they went to Blackwater's offices in Baghdad looking for an apology and an explanation.

"They said this is $20,000, a gift, not compensation, from the company. I told them, 'You kill my son and give me $20,000?' I don't want your $20,000. You until now have not admitted there was a crime, or apologized," Kinani said.

He said he offered to relinquish all legal and monetary claims on Blackwater if they apologized, but the firm declined.

Rubaie said he left a meeting with Blackwater with no answers. "I asked Blackwater why they killed my son. They said they didn't know. I asked them why they killed my wife, who was screaming for help after my son was killed ... He said: 'I don't know'," Rubaie said.

"I told him that if every time I ask you something you tell me 'I don't know' then there's no point in us meeting."

They said this is $20,000, a gift, not compensation, from the company. I told them, 'You kill my son and give me $20,000?' I don't want your $20,000. You until now have not admitted there was a crime, or apologized

Kinani

Immunity ends

Security firms working for the United States after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion enjoyed immunity from prosecution in Iraq, but that ends on Dec. 31 under a security pact between Baghdad and Washington signed last month.

Guards, whose armored convoys once barreled through the streets with impunity, could face being thrown into crowded and violent Iraqi jails once their era of immunity ends.

"We're getting ready to enter a highly ambiguous period, and the risks are going to be high," said Lawrence Peter, director of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq.

The prospect of being thrown in Iraqi prison is enough to frighten even the most seasoned of foreign guards, but industry officials say that, rather than charting an exit plan, they will take a wait-and-see approach.

More than the loss of immunity itself, security and other contractors are concerned by the prospect of long pretrial detentions and famously ghastly conditions at Iraqi prisons.

"The U.S. government doesn't even want the military's own employees in the Iraqi judicial system, but they think it's okay to put the contractors there. That's problematic," said Doug Brooks, head of the International Peace Operations Association.