5 Blackwater Guards Charged in Shooting

Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been indicted and a sixth was negotiating a plea with prosecutors for a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and became an anti-American rallying cry for insurgents, people close to the case said today. Prosecutors obtained the indictment late yesterday and had it put under seal until it is made public, perhaps as early as Monday.

All who discussed the case did so on condition of anonymity because the matters remain sealed. The exact charges in the indictment were unclear, but the Justice Department has been considering manslaughter and assault charges against the guards for weeks. The department has ordered five of the six guards to surrender to the FBI but details of where or when were still being worked out today. (More Blackwater stories.)