The news comes as The New York Times has revealed that the leader of the Blackwater squad that carried out the shooting and two or three subordinate guards involved are now back in the United States. An anonymous Blackwater employee says the squad leader supposedly left Iraq to have shrapnel removed from his leg. The other guards are said to have left Iraq because their contracts expired. But their departure will likely fuel speculation that Blackwater is trying to avoid scrutiny and punishment. Blackwater is already embroiled in a controversy for ferrying out a guard accused of shooting and killing a bodyguard to Iraq’s vice president last Christmas Eve. The guard was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the shooting. He’s now living in Seattle. Meanwhile, The New York Times also reports of a growing feeling within the Blackwater compound in Iraq that the killings were unjustified. Four current and two former Blackwater employees say guards widely expect to see criminal charges.