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Grand Jury Calls Guards —but Not Shooters

Blackwater guards give State Dept. conflicting accounts of shootings

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2007 8:04 AM CST
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(Newser) – A federal grand jury investigating the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians by Blackwater security guards has called guards who were present at the September incident to testify—but not the five who admit firing their weapons, sources told ABC News. Twelve other guards were said to be present at the Baghdad intersection at the time. In State Department testimony obtained by ABC News, guards have given conflicting accounts.

 At least one said he saw no threat to the convoy; another other said he saw "multiple" Iraqi police firiing AK-47s, "impacting the left side of my vehicle." One shooter said he was engaged in small arms fire from a red bus stopped at the intersection. "I engaged the individuals and stopped the threat," he said. An FBI investigation concluded that all but three of the 17 shootings were unjustified.

A private contractor gestures to their colleagues flying over in a helicopter as they secure the scene of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq in this Tuesday, July 5, 2005 file photo.
A private contractor gestures to their colleagues flying over in a helicopter as they secure the scene of a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq in this Tuesday, July 5, 2005 file photo.   (Associated Press)
Plainclothes contractors working for Blackwater USA take part in a firefight in the Iraqi city of Najaf in this April file photo. (AP Photo/Gervasio Sanchez, FILE)
Plainclothes contractors working for Blackwater USA take part in a firefight in the Iraqi city of Najaf in this April file photo. (AP Photo/Gervasio Sanchez, FILE)   (Associated Press)
Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007, before the House Oversight Committee hearing examining the mission and performance of the private military contractor Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan. (AP Photos/Susan Walsh)
Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007, before the House Oversight Committee hearing examining the mission and performance of the private military...   (Associated Press)
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Blackwater's loopholes
Salt Lake Tribune

 
Iraq • Blackwater • security contractors • grand jury • Iraq contractors

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