Blackwater charges: 14 counts of manslaughter

A bullet hole is seen on a traffic light pole at al-Nisoor square in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. At this square, more than a year ago, Blackwater Worldwide security guards shot dead 17 Iraqi civilians. The US Justice Department has indicted five Blackwater Worldwide security guards and is negotiating a plea deal with a sixth, according to people close to the case.The six guards have been under investigation since a convoy of heavily armed Blackwater contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection on Sept. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Hadi Mizban

A bullet hole is seen on a traffic light pole at al-Nisoor square in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. At this square, more than a year ago, Blackwater Worldwide security guards shot dead 17 Iraqi civilians. The US Justice Department has indicted five Blackwater Worldwide security guards and is negotiating a plea deal with a sixth, according to people close to the case.The six guards have been under investigation since a convoy of heavily armed Blackwater contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection on Sept. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Associated Press
December 8, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. prosecutors say Blackwater Worldwide security guards used machine guns and grenade launchers in an attack on unarmed Iraqi civilians, some of whom had their hands up.

Prosecutors unsealed a 35-count indictment against the five guards Monday for a 2007 shooting in Baghdad. The guards surrendered in Utah, where they will argue the case should be tried.

The Justice Department charged the men with manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and using a machine gun in a crime of violence. The latter charge carries a 30-year mandatory prison sentence.

A sixth guard admitted in a plea deal to killing at least one Iraqi in the shooting.

U.S. attorney Jeffrey Taylor says the guards were authorized only to take defensive actions.