Iraqis file U.S. suit against Blackwater

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- An injured Iraqi and relatives of three Iraqis killed by security contractors employed by Blackwater USA filed suit Thursday in Washington against the company.

The Sept. 16 shootings in Baghdad's Nisoor Square came as Blackwater security personnel were escorting a U.S. State Department convoy. Contractors said they were responding to gunfire but 17 Iraqis were killed and 24 injured.

The Washington Post said the suit called the shootings a "massacre" and "senseless slaughter" and asks for an unspecified sum of money.

The suit targets Blackwater USA, The Prince Group and Blackwater founder and Chief Executive Officer Erik Prince.

The U.S. State Department, the FBI and the Iraqi government reportedly are investigating the incident.

The Post said the suit is the first by family members to seek damages inside the United States. A similar suit alleging contractors at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq has been under way since 2004.