The story

Blackwater USA guards have used deadly force weekly in Iraq and have inflicted "significant casualties and property damage," according to a congressional staff report released Monday that cites internal company and State Department documents.

Blackwater's contractors fired their weapons 195 times -- or an average of 1.4 times a week -- from the beginning of 2005 through the second week of September, the Democratic staff of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found.

In over 80 percent of the cases, Blackwater reports that its forces fired first, according to the staff report. Read full article »

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh in Baghdad, Zain Verjee in Washington and Suzanne Simons in Atlanta contributed to this report.

All About U.S. Department of StateIraq WarBlackwater USA

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