Iraq welcomes Blackwater guards charges

PRIVATE CONTRACTORS: A 2006 file photo of a Blackwater Bell 500 helicopter in Baghdad. (AFP)

Iraq's government has welcomed charges handed down in Washington against five private US security guards over a deadly shooting in Baghdad, but said it could still demand compensation for the victims.

"The Iraqi government is pleased with what the American jurisdiction is (doing) now," spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said when asked about the indictments announced on Monday against five former guards for the security firm Blackwater.

"But also, at the end, the Iraqi government reserves its right to protect the victims and the families and get the proper compensation for them," said Dabbagh, answering questions during an appearance at a foreign policy institute in Washington.

The Blackwater guards were charged with killing 14 Iraqi civilians and wounding 18 others using gunfire and grenades against unarmed Iraqis while travelling in a convoy through a busy Baghdad intersection in September 2007.

A sixth guard pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter for the shooting.

Blackwater was employed by the US State Department and the deadly incident sparked an outcry in Iraq and around the world over the deployment of private contractors in war zones.

Blackwater has insisted its personnel were acting in self-defence.

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