U.S. lawyers for Blackwater guards say 2007 Baghdad shooting was self defence

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Blackwater security guards faced gunfire from multiple directions and acted in self defence when they shot into a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007, their lawyers told a jury on Wednesday in a case over the killing of 14 unarmed people during the Iraq war.

The guards, who were securing a route for a U.S. State Department convoy, made split-second decisions to defend themselves and their team and should not be second guessed years later, even if civilians were killed, two lawyers said.