Blackwater gets in deeper

Pulling weapons on U.S. soldiers in Iraq in 2006 and getting sued by a human rights group in the United States:

A US human rights group says it is suing private security firm Blackwater for unspecified damages for war crimes and wrongfully killing Iraqi civilians.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is acting on behalf of an injured survivor and three families of men killed by Blackwater guards on 16 September.

The Iraqi government said the incident in which 17 people died was unprovoked. Blackwater denies firing without cause.

The case has put a spotlight on private military contractors in Iraq.

The action claims Blackwater "created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life," the centre said in a statement.

It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of lawless mercenaries....