Blackwater workers who shot Afghans not authorized to carry guns

Posted to: Military
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The Associated Press
© May 20, 2009

KABUL

Four U.S. contractors for the company formerly known as Blackwater were not authorized to carry weapons when they were involved in a deadly shooting in Afghanistan this month, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

The men - accused of opening fire on a vehicle in the capital on May 5 - have charged that their Moyock, N.C.-based employer, now called Xe, issued them guns in breach of the company's contract with the military. One Afghan was killed in the shooting, and two others wounded.

Xe declined to comment on the weapons or the contract.

The men were all back in the United States or en route by Tuesday, said Daniel Callahan, an attorney for the contractors.

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