Four former private security guards from the US have received lengthy prison sentences for killing 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007. The men, who worked for Blackwater Security in Baghdad, insisted they were fired upon first.The case triggered international outrage and raised questions over the role of security contractors in war zones.Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reports.

The four men who worked with the private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater were sentenced on Monday, with one man receiving a life sentence and the other three receiving 30 years each. The trial and conviction of the four took place following the Baghdad Massacre in 2007, which left 14 civilians dead. Manila Chan has more from the federal courts.