WASHINGTON: Two former Blackwater employees have been charged with the murder of two Afghans in Kabul last year and could face the death penalty, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

Justin Cannon, 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Chris-topher Drotleff, 29, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, have been charged with second-degree murder following the shooting deaths of the two Afghan men. They were also charged with attempted murder, after a third man was wounded in the Kabul incident on May 5, when Cannon and Drotleff were working as contractors for the Department of Defence in Afghanistan.

Both men, who had provided training to the Afghan army in using and maintaining weapons systems, were arrested on Thursday after the 13-count grand jury indictment, the statement added. They face a total of eight charges each.

Blackwater, a private security firm which has changed its name to Xe following a series of highly-publicised controversies in Iraq, is headquartered in North Carolina. The two men were employed by Paravant LLC which is a subsidiary of Xe.

The two men who were shot dead were identified as Rahib Mirza Mohammad and Romal Mohammad Naiem.