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U.S.: Egyptian killed by warning shots

Story Highlights
U.S. military security team on civilian cargo ship fired on approaching boat
Warning shots accidentally hit man on boat, U.S. Navy says
U.S. initially said no one died; it vows to help take care of victim's family
Small boats often approach civilian ships, avoid warships, source tells AP
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(CNN) -- The U.S. Navy on Wednesday admitted an Egyptian was killed this week when shots were fired from a military-contracted cargo ship at a boat near the Suez Canal.

"We accept responsibility for actions that apparently resulted in this accidental death. This situation is tragic, and we will help take care of the victim's family," said Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Cosgriff said the fleet is cooperating with Egyptian authorities in their investigation.

The United States originally said no one died in Monday's encounter between the cargo vessel Global Patriot and three small boats near the Suez Canal, a 100-mile waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

When the boats approached the Global Patriot, a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn warned the vessels to turn away, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, said.

"A warning flare was then fired," the embassy said in a statement. "One small boat continued to approach the ship and received two sets of warning shots."

The embassy said Wednesday it appears that one of the warning shots killed an Egyptian on the approaching boat.

The embassy did not mention anyone being wounded. Egyptian media reports said two people were wounded in addition to the death.

"We express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased," the embassy said.

A senior U.S. military official said an armed military security team was on board for the canal transit.

Abbas al-Amrikani, the head of the Suez seaman's union, told The Associated Press the dead man was Mohammed Fouad, a 27-year-old father of three.

"The bullet entered his heart and went out the other side," the AP quoted al-Amrikani as saying.

An Egyptian security official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, said merchants often use small boats to try to sell cigarettes and other items to ships transiting the Suez Canal.

The merchants know not to approach military vessels, he told the AP, but the fact that the Global Patriot was a civilian vessel may have led to confusion.

The U.S. State Department said the U.S. Department of Defense had contracted the vessel to carry department materials. E-mail to a friend