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Five private security guards charged in Baghdad shootings

Other News Materials 8 December 2008 21:44 (UTC +04:00)

Five guards employed by the Blackwater security firm were charged Monday with voluntary manslaughter in connection to the September 2007 shootings in Baghdad that left more than 30 civilians dead, dpa reported.

The US Justice Department announced the charges against the five men while also saying a sixth guard has pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter in the September 16 shootings in Nisoor Square.

The five defendants face 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of firearms violation by using an assault gun in the course of committing a crime.

Each manslaughter count carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence. The firearms violation carries a minimum 30-year sentence under a law passed more than a decade ago during a crackdown on drug violence.

The five guards turned themselves in to a federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, and were to appear in court later on Monday.

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