A group of five private security guards who allegedly killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad have been ordered to surrender themselves to the FBI within 24 hours.

The order was given on Sunday and lawyers for the men, who were working for the private contractor Blackwater in Iraq, said they would hand themselves in on Monday.

The details over the group's identities and charges against them had been kept secret for more than a year, but were released on Sunday.

The men are all decorated war veterans who were contracted to protect US diplomats in Iraq.

They are accused of firing on 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square, in September 2007.

Their identites are Evan Liberty and Donald Ball, both 26-year-old former marines,  Dustin Heard, a 27-year-old ex-marine, Nick Slatten, 25, an ex-army sergeant, and Paul Slough, a 29-year-old army veteran.

Disputed case

Blackwater said that the guards were returning fire after their convoy was shot at. The head of Blackwater even appeared before the US Congress shortly after the attack, saying that the men acted responsibly.

The incident created a furor about the perceived ability of private guards to act with impunity in Iraq.

An Iraqi government spokesman has said that they believed that the attack were tantamount to deliberate murder.

The case is complicated by the sphere of jurisdiction over private security guards not being clear.

At the time of the attack, private contractors like Blackwater operated without any clear legal oversight and it could be argued they did not have to answer either to Iraqi or US laws.

Poor forensic evidence

Under the deal Blackwater had with the US government, it was allowed to repair the vehicles involved in the attack before investigators saw them, taking away key forensic evidence.

But a sixth man, also a suspect in the case who has not been identified is expected to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his cooperation in testifying against his former colleagues, which may help the prosecution.

Riad Kahwaji, the Middle East bureau chief for the international defence publication, Defence News, told Al Jazeera: "So far, in light of the investigations, it seems as if the right decision has been made, and these people have to answer to a court of law."

Kahwaji said that it is not certain that the men will make trial - first a federal judge has to evaluate the evidence before approving the case being taken to court.

He said that the move would be good for US-Iraq relations even if there are complications during any trial: "The US would have shown that it is willing and ready to take action when need be against civilian contractors."