A report indicates that the US has hired a notorious private security contractor to guard its facilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere despite Washington's rejection of the claim.
An unnamed source told the Washington Post on Thursday the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) signed a USD 100 million contract with Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide.
"It's for protective services... guard services, in multiple regions," the source said.
According to the daily, two other security contractors, Triple Canopy and DynCorp International, put in losing bids for CIA's business.
The new contract was awarded after members of a federal commission investigating war-zone contractors blasted the US State Department for granting Xe a new USD 120 million contract to guard US consulates under construction in Afghanistan.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said that Xe personnel would not be involved in operations. "We've also made it clear that personnel from Xe do not serve with the CIA in any operational roles," he said.
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Erik Prince, chairman of the board at Xe and owner of Prince Group, said the North Carolina-based firm had no comment.
The firm was thrown into the spotlight after a September 2007 incident in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, when its guards opened fire in a city square, allegedly killing 17 unarmed civilians and wounding 24 others.
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