A federal judge in Washington, DC has thrown out all charges against the five Blackwater operatives involved in the 2007 Nisoor Square massacre that killed seventeen Iraqi civilians. Judge Ricardo Urbina handed down his ruling late in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve. Urbina accused the Justice Department of building its case on sworn statements that the guards had given under a promise of immunity. The decision was met by outrage in Iraq. Iraqi government spokesperson Ali Al-Dabbagh said Iraq would support a civil lawsuit filed in US courts by victims of the shooting.

Ali Al-Dabbagh: “The government is not part of this case, but the victims and the families of the victims who were wounded and harmed are the ones who will file the case. The government will facilitate a lawsuit from Iraqi citizens to sue the guards and the company for the damage they caused and for committing this crime.”