Sailing a war ship into another countries water and opening fire on its citizens. Undeclared act of war, or preemptive selfdefence?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080326/pl_afp/egyptusmilitarymaritimesuez

CAIRO (AFP) - The United States admitted on Wednesday that a US navy-chartered boat killed an Egyptian when it fired warning shots at a small boat plying its trade near the Suez Canal two days ago, saying compensation would be paid.

The US had initially denied that there were any casualties in the incident, insisting that all the warning shots were seen hitting the water.

"The Global Patriot ... fired warning shots at a small boat approaching the ship as it was preparing to transit the Suez Canal," said a statement from the US embassy in Cairo. "It appears that an Egyptian in the boat was killed by one of the warning shots.

"The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn to warn them to turn away. A warning flare was then fired. One small boat continued to approach the ship and received two sets of warning shots."

The embassy said the incident was under investigation and "we express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased." The US navy said relatives of the dead man, Mohammed Moqtar Afifi, would be compensated.

"The relatives will receive money," Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet based in Manama, told AFP. "I can't speculate on how long that will take.

"The important thing is our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the deceased and we hope this doesn't happen again," Christensen said, declining to say whether procedures would be changed following the killing.

"The incident is still under investigation and we continue to pursue a policy of disciplined restraint to protect the innocent lives of our crewmen. The navy will maintain that policy."

A medic at Suez hospital said that Afifi was killed by one bullet. He was buried in a Suez suburb on Tuesday while US authorities continued to deny any casualties from the incident.

Following reports that the Global Patriot had no obvious military markings to discourage other boats from approaching, Christensen confirmed the ship "looks like a regular container ship (and) does not look like a US naval vessel."

The chief of US navy operations Admiral Gary Roughead said on Tuesday that the leader of the US navy security team had authority to respond.

He said the navy commonly places security detachments aboard merchant vessels chartered by the US Military Sealift Command to move military cargo around the world.

The embassy and the navy had said that warning shots were fired "20-30 yards (metres) in front of the bow. All shots were accounted for as they entered the water."

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Tuesday that the US was working with the Egyptian authorities to "make sure that we have good, clear, open communication so you do not have a repeat of these kinds of incidents."

Egyptian accounts said one man was shot dead and two other people injured on Monday when the US ship fired on barges which approached the vessel wanting to sell merchandise.

US warships in the Middle East have previously been harassed or attacked by small boats.

In January, Iranian speedboats approached three US warships in the Strait of Hormuz and the order was given to open fire but they turned away at the last minute, according to US reports.

In 2000, waterborne Al-Qaeda militants carried out a suicide attack on the American warship USS Cole, killing 17 sailors.

According to the website of the US navy's Military Sealift Command, the MV Global Patriot is a roll-on roll-off transport ship chartered from Global Container Lines.

The Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, is Egypt's third-largest source of revenue after tourism and remittances from expatriate workers and currently about 7.5 percent of global trade passes through the waterway.

It is also a key route for the US military to carry weapons, supplies and troops to and from the Gulf, in particular Kuwait and Iraq.