FBI 'finds Blackwater shootings unjustified'

US government agents have found that the killing of at least 14 of the 17 Iraqi civilians shot by Blackwater Worldwide security guards were unjustified and broke rules for using deadly force, it was reported today.

Citing civilian and military officials briefed on the case, The New York Times reported on its website that the US Justice Department was already reviewing the findings even though the FBI was still investigating the shootings in Baghdad on September 16.

There was no evidence to support claims by Blackwater employees that they were fired upon by Iraqi civilians, the Times said.

The FBI has concluded that three of the deaths may have been justified under rules that allow lethal force in response to an imminent threat, the Times reported.

Investigators had said that as many as five of the company’s guards opened fire during the shootings, according to the newspaper. One had become the focus of the investigation, the Times said, because that guard was responsible for several deaths.

A government official familiar with the investigation said no conclusions had been reached about any of the fatalities and a US State Department official said he was not aware that the department had been informed of any findings.

Asked about the Times report, Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokeswoman, said the company “supports the stringent accountability of the industry”.

“If it is determined that one person was complicit in the wrongdoing, we would support accountability in that. The key people in this have not spoken with investigators,” she said.

Blackwater said its convoy was attacked in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square before it opened fire, but the Iraqi government’s investigation concluded that the shootings were unprovoked.

State department officials have said it has offered limited immunity to private security contractors involved in shootings in Iraq.

They disagreed with law enforcement officials that such actions could jeopardise prosecutions over the incident.