A US judge has thrown out charges against five employees of Blackwater security firm which used to operate in Iraq.

The five men were accused of shooting dead 14 Iraqi citizens in Baghdad in 2007, without having reason to open fire.

The judge threw the case out because the Public Prosecution had used evidence which had been gained unlawfully.

The shooting led to outrage in Iraq and US private security firms were accused of systematic abuses.

The firm’s licence to operate in Iraq was not extended once it expired and the company has since changed its name.