Controversial US firm Blackwater awarded contract to provide security in Afghanistan

Washington, June 19 (ANI) : The US State department has awarded the U.S. Training Center, a business unit of the Moyock, which was formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, a contract worth more than 120 million dollars for providing security services in Afghanistan.

Under the contract, the U.S. Training Center will provide "protective security services" at the new U.S. consulates in Herat and Nazar-e-Sharaf, Afghanistan.

The firm is expected to start its work within two months time. The contract is for a year, but can be extended twice for three months at a time to last a maximum of 18 months, CBS News reports.

Interestingly, the order has come just four months after Iraq ordered hundreds of Blackwater security guards to vacate the country within seven days or face possible arrest.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has put five Blackwater guards, who had opened fire on a crowded Baghdad street in 2007, on the list to prosecute them. However, it could not stop the US Training Center from bidding on the multi-million dollar contract.

"Under federal acquisition regulations, the prosecution of the specific Blackwater individuals does not preclude the company or its successive companies and subsidiaries from bidding on contracts," a State Department spokeswoman said.

"On the basis of full and open competition, the department performed a full technical evaluation of all proposals and determined the U.S. Training Center has the best ability and qualifications to meet the contract requirements," she added. (ANI)