Reuters reports: In a sweeping victory for the U.S. government, a federal jury on Wednesday found four former Blackwater guards guilty on nearly every count they faced in connection with the 2007 killing of 14 unarmed Iraqis at a Baghdad traffic circle.

Jurors found three of the ex-guards guilty of manslaughter and weapons charges, and a fourth guilty of murder.

The verdict comes more than seven years after the shooting incident that outraged Iraqis and inflamed anti-American sentiment around the world.

A court clerk read the jury’s verdict aloud on Wednesday around noon to a packed courtroom, repeating the word “guilty” 71 times as the defendants sat and listened silently. [Continue reading…]