WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The head of Blackwater USA on Sunday rejected a mounting series of reports suggesting the private contractor 's security guards opened fire on innocent Iraqi civilians last month . Blackwater CEO Erik Prince said Sunday that guards `` definitely '' faced insurgent fire September 16 . `` There was definitely incoming small arms fire from insurgents '' in the September 16 incident in Baghdad , founder and CEO Erik Prince told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer on `` Late Edition . '' There was no `` deliberate violence , '' committed by Blackwater employees , he added . Still , when asked whether it is possible someone with Blackwater `` screwed up '' in the incident , Prince replied , `` Certainly it 's possible . '' He said he expects the FBI investigation to provide many answers . Meanwhile , U.S. and Iraqi officials continue discussing Baghdad 's demand that Blackwater be expelled from Iraq within six months , The Associated Press reported Sunday . American officials are also coming up with ways to fill the security gap if Blackwater is forced to leave , AP reported . Blackwater guards , protecting U.S. officials in Iraq , face dangerous circumstances every day and have navigated the vast majority of those situations without any violence , Prince told CNN . The guards just try to do their jobs , and are `` not trying to make any trouble , '' he said . The Iraqi government accuses Blackwater guards of opening fire without provocation on civilians in a crowded area in Baghdad on September 16 , killing 17 and wounding 27 . Survivors told FBI investigators Blackwater guards shot at civilians presenting no threat . Watch a Blackwater witness describe his account » . The first U.S. soldiers to arrive on the scene after the incident told military investigators they found no evidence contractors were fired upon , a source familiar with a preliminary U.S. military report told CNN . The soldiers found evidence suggesting the guards fired on cars attempting to leave and found weapon casings on the scene matching only those used by U.S. military and contractors , the military source said . But Prince on Sunday told CNN , `` In the incident reports I 've seen , at least three of our armored vehicles were hit by small arms fire , incoming , and one of them damaged , which actually delayed their departure from the traffic circle while they tried to rig a tow . `` So there was definitely incoming small-arms fire from insurgents . '' He added , `` I guarantee our guys were n't shooting at each other . '' And he said the traffic circle is very big , so those first soldiers on the scene would have needed `` almost a battalion to secure that entire area , to do a thorough crime scene type investigation . '' `` So the jury is still out . We 'll see what the FBI report comes up with , but I 'm confident that the kind of people we have out there are proven military professionals , '' Prince said . Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh accused Blackwater of `` a deliberate crime against civilians , '' and said the company `` should be tried in court , and the victims should be compensated . '' A Philadelphia law firm has filed suit in federal court against Blackwater on behalf of the families of three Iraqis killed and one wounded in the in the incident , which occurred in and around Baghdad 's Nusoor Square . The suit claims Blackwater `` created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees , encouraging them to act in the company 's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life . '' Prince called the lawsuit `` politically motivated '' for `` media attention , '' and rejected the depictions of his company . `` In Baghdad , the most dangerous city in the world , to say that it was a callous , rampant , evil action , you know , when the guys get it right 99 out of 100 times and do n't have to use any force or any violence at all , I think they are doing very well , '' he said . E-mail to a friend .
Erik Prince : ` ` There was definitely incoming small arms fire from ' '' There was ` ` no deliberate violence , '' he said , during September 11 attacks . Iraqi government says Blackwater guards killed insurgents , fired without warning . AP : He may be expelled from Iraq within six months .