Five employees of the US security firm Blackwater face charges over the 2007 shooting of 17 Iraqis, reports say.
Contracted to defend US diplomats, the firm says its guards acted in self-defence when they opened fire after being ambushed by Baghdad insurgents.
The deaths strained US-Iraqi relations and an Iraqi inquiry concluded the shooting was unprovoked.
The men are expected to surrender to authorities on Monday, when sealed documents are likely to be publicised.
While the exact charges remain unclear, the US justice department has been considering manslaughter and assault charges against the guards for weeks.
The New York Times has previously reported that an FBI investigation had concluded that 14 of the deaths at the busy Baghdad intersection on 16 September 2007 were unjustified.
Young children were among the victims.
New guidelines
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh welcomed news of the charges, telling the Associated Press news agency that Baghdad welcomed any attempt to “hold the criminals accountable for their crime”.
A sixth Blackwater employee is negotiating a plea deal in return for testifying against his colleagues, AP reported, adding that the indicted men are decorated military veterans.
American law is unclear on whether contractors can be charged in the US or anywhere else for crimes committed overseas.
In October 2007 the Iraqi government approved a draft law revoking the immunity from prosecution that private security contractors enjoyed under Iraqi law.
The US has since put in place new guidelines for security contractors.
Based at a vast ranch complex in North Carolina, Blackwater is one of the main private providers of security within Iraq, and its contract there was extended in April.
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Blackwater guards ‘face charges’
Five employees of the US security firm Blackwater face charges over the 2007 shooting of 17 Iraqis, reports say.
Contracted to defend US diplomats, the firm says its guards acted in self-defence when they opened fire after being ambushed by Baghdad insurgents.
The deaths strained US-Iraqi relations and an Iraqi inquiry concluded the shooting was unprovoked.
The men are expected to surrender to authorities on Monday, when sealed documents are likely to be publicised.
While the exact charges remain unclear, the US justice department has been considering manslaughter and assault charges against the guards for weeks.
The New York Times has previously reported that an FBI investigation had concluded that 14 of the deaths at the busy Baghdad intersection on 16 September 2007 were unjustified.
Young children were among the victims.
New guidelines
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh welcomed news of the charges, telling the Associated Press news agency that Baghdad welcomed any attempt to “hold the criminals accountable for their crime”.
A sixth Blackwater employee is negotiating a plea deal in return for testifying against his colleagues, AP reported, adding that the indicted men are decorated military veterans.
American law is unclear on whether contractors can be charged in the US or anywhere else for crimes committed overseas.
In October 2007 the Iraqi government approved a draft law revoking the immunity from prosecution that private security contractors enjoyed under Iraqi law.
The US has since put in place new guidelines for security contractors.
Based at a vast ranch complex in North Carolina, Blackwater is one of the main private providers of security within Iraq, and its contract there was extended in April.
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