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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Blackwater Accused Again of Murders in Iraq

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) - Two more Iranian families accuse Blackwater, now known as Xe, of murdering their husbands and fathers in Baghdad and covering it up. Azhar Abdullah Ali, 33, a father of three, was a security guard for the Iraqi Media Network when Blackwater mercenaries killed him and two others on Feb. 7, 2007, according to the federal complaint. The family of Rahim Khalaf Sa'adoon claims drunken Blackwater mercenary Andrew Moonen killed Sa'adoon on Christmas Eve, "for no reason," as Sa'adoon guarded the vice president of Iraq.

The security guard family's complaint states: "The Xe-Blackwater employees had no reason to shoot these three men. Approximately 20 Xe-Blackwater employees witnessed the crimes. Blackwater-Xe supervisors learned of the killings shortly after they occurred. Yet Xe- Blackwater did nothing to report the shootings. Instead, Xe-Blackwater acted, and continues to act, in conspiracy with the shooters, to evade any accountability whatsoever."

The family claims Xe-Blackwater refused to identify the killers to Iraqi authorities, and destroyed and concealed evidence of this and other Blackwater shootings. They also sued Erik Prince, who owns and controls a network of defendants companies.

"Xe-Btackwater's unjustified killings of Sabah Salman Hassoon, Azhar Abdullah Ali, and Nibrass Mohammed Dawood are but one of a staggering number of senseless deaths that directly resulted from Xe-Blackwater's misconduct," according to the complaint.

Sa'adoon left two young children and his wife.

Named as defendants are Erik Prince, Prince Group, EP Investments LLC, EP Investments LLC, Greystone, Total Intelligence, The Prince Group LLC, Xe, Blackwater Worldwide, Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Blackwater Target Systems, Blackwater Security Consulting, and Raven Development Group.

Both families seek punitive damages for war crimes, wrongful death, assault and battery, spoliation of evidence, and negligence. They are represented by Susan Burke with Burke O'Neil of Philadelphia.

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