Blackwater Guards Indicted in Afghan Killings

A Virginia jury has indicted two former Blackwater guards on second-degree murder charges for their actions during confrontation in Kabul last year that left two Afghans dead and another wounded. The men, both employed as trainers by Blackwater subsidiary Paravant, opened fire on a vehicle at an intersection after their convoy was involved in a traffic accident, federal investigators found.

This is the first time employees of a Blackwater-affiliated firm have been charged for their actions in Afghanistan, the Washington Post notes. A lawyer for the men disputes the government's version of events and says the pair acted in self-defense. "They thought their lives were in jeopardy," he said. "They thought insurgents were attacking them." (More Xe Services stories.)