Security firm denies criminal allegation

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Xe, a private security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, has denied claims in court documents that its founder engaged in criminal activity in Iraq.

The allegations are contained in affidavits filed in Virginia in a lawsuit brought by two former employees of Blackwater. The plaintiffs -- who are identified only as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 -- accuse Blackwater founder and former Chief Executive Officer Erik Prince of murder and other serious crimes in Iraq, CNN reported.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia on behalf of Iraqi families who say relatives were killed by Blackwater personnel.

Xe issued a statement saying it would file a brief Aug. 17 in response "to the anonymous unsubstantiated and offensive assertions put forward by the plaintiffs."

The firm was contracted until May by the U.S. State Department to provide security in Iraq. The government did not renew the contract, CNN said.