Fourth Suit in a Week Filed Against Blackwater in San Diego

SAN DIEGO - A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego alleges three security guards for the state-run Iraqi Media Network were shot by Blackwater security personnel who have evaded responsibility for the unprovoked killings.

The lawsuit is the fourth to be filed in the past two weeks against Blackwater Worldwide stemming from its work in Iraq. The complaint alleges the guards were shot at the rear gate of the Iraqi Media Network as they tried to move along a slowing car in the King Faisal Square traffic circle, which separates the IMN from the Iraqi Justice Ministry, where Blackwater "shooters" were perched on the roof during a meeting involving a U.S. diplomat.

The suit was filed on behalf of the widows and children of Sabah Salman Hassoon, a 38-year-old married father of three; Azhar Abdullah Ali, a 33-year-old married father of three; and Nibrass Mohammed Dawood, 25. All were residents of Baghdad.

The suit names several Blackwater-related defendants, now operating as Xe, and other names under the control of Chairman Erik Prince.

The lawsuit alleges that the Feb. 7, 20007, shootings were witnessed by about 20 Blackwater personnel who refused to cooperate with Iraqi authorities and destroyed documents and other evidence.

The families later discovered from Iraqi police reports that Xe- Blackwater had been involved in the shootings, which were described as "an act of terrorism," according to the lawsuit.

Xe-Blackwater -- which operates two training facilities in San Diego -- is accused in the lawsuit of committing war crimes, assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, training and supervision.

Earlier Suits

SAN DIEGO - Two more federal lawsuits were filed in San Diego on behalf of the estates of people allegedly killed by employees of Blackwater Worldwide, the private security company now known as Xe, their attorneys announced Friday.

The suits, filed last Friday and Thursday, were filed on behalf of the survivors of Sa'ad Raheem Jarallah, who died in Baghdad on Sept. 9, 2007, and 15 plaintiffs associated with a shootout a week later.

The Jarallah suit seeks punitive damages against Xe and its founder, Erik Prince, and compensatory damages for losses suffered. The complaint for the second suit was not immediately available.

The company provided private security services in Iraq and drew criticism for a series of shooting deaths.

The firm now operates a training center in Otay Mesa in the southern part of San Diego.

The complaint accuses Xe and Prince of war crimes; assault and battery; wrongful death; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; negligent hiring, training and supervision; and destroying evidence.

Jarallah, 53, was a married father who worked as a teacher at a technical school in Al Amara when he was killed, according to the complaint.

"Shooters" hired by Blackwater fired "without justification on a crowd of innocent Iraqi persons in and around Al Watahba Square resulting in multiple deaths and injuries," the complaint says.

Lawyers for the families of the victims called the shooting a "massacre," "a senseless slaughter" and part of a "lengthy pattern of egregious conduct" by the company.

They also claimed that 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 Washington, D.C., law firm of Burke O'Neil LLC and the Center for Constitutional Rights are representing the plaintiffs, along with attorney Michael Faircloth of San Diego.

The cases have not been assigned a hearing date.

Last week, a federal lawsuit was filed claiming that an employee of the firm randomly murdered an Iraqi vice president's guard after a 2006 Christmas party and tried to cover it up.

Christmas Eve Shooting

SAN DIEGO - A federal lawsuit filed in San Diego claims an intoxicated employee of a private security agency randomly murdered an Iraqi vice president's guard after a 2006 Christmas Eve party and the company tried to cover it up.

The suit alleges that former Blackwater employee Andrew Moonen fatally shot Raheem Khalaf Sa'adoon, 32, who was a security guard for Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, and that several Blackwater-related defendants under the control of company Chairman Erik Prince attempted to evade responsibility.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of Sa'adoon's widow, Wijdan Mohsin Saed, and their two sons, 11-year-old Sajjad Raheem Khalaf and 8-year-old Ali Raheem Khalaf.

According to the complaint, Moonen left the holiday party and lost his way in a section of Baghdad known as Little Venice.

Visibly intoxicated, he encountered Sa'adoon on guard duty and fired his company-issued firearm at the victim, killing him for no reason, the lawsuit alleges.

Blackwater -- now known as Xe -- is also accused of spiriting Moonen out of Iraq, bribing an Iraqi government official and destroying documents and other evidence relating to the shooting and other Blackwater shootings, according to the lawsuit.

Blackwater USA was formed in 1990 to provide training support to military and law enforcement organizations.

The company runs the U.S. Training Center Southwest in Otay Mesa in southern San Diego County.

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