WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department will not renew the contract of security contractor Blackwater Worldwide when it expires in May, a senior State Department official said Friday. Heavily armed Blackwater guards scan downtown Baghdad, Iraq, from a helicopter in 2003. The decision was made after the Iraqi government refused last week to renew the firm's operating license because of a 2007 incident in which the Iraqi government says security guards -- then employed by Blackwater -- fired on and killed 17 Iraqis. Blackwater's latest "task order" expires in May, and the senior official said that "one of the conditions is that you have to have a license" to continue working in the country.
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Contract expires in May and won't be renewed, State Department says
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Decision comes after security contractor loses right to operate in Iraq
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Five ex-Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty to charges related to 2007 shootings
An @placeholder investigation concluded that the guards randomly fired at civilians without provocation.