The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating allegations that employees of Blackwater, the US private security company, last month shot and killed 11 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. The Iraqi government has accused Blackwater of committing a "crime" when some of its security guards opened fire on a group of Iraqis on September 16. Blackwater says the employees, who were protecting a US embassy convoy, fired in self-defence. The FBI said it would send a team to Iraq to assist a State department investigation.