US naval ship guns down Indian fisherman off the UAE coast

17 Jul 2012

1

One Indian fisherman was killed and three others were seriously injured on Monday when the US Naval Ship Rappahannock, a refuelling vessel, fired on their fishing vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The fishermen who survived a hail of gunfire from the US navy vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates said the US vessel fired without warning.

US Navy's Fifth Fleet claims that they fired at the boat that approached the vessel at high speed after it ignored repeated warnings to steer clear of the American vessel.

The incident, near Dubai's Jebel Ali port, highlighted the potential danger that fishermen face at sea as sea lanes are increasingly being hijacked by naval ships and pirate boats.

US forces are increasingly getting nervous as Washington ramps up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The fishermen hospitalised with gunshot wounds said they received no warning before the US craft opened fire, and that their craft had attempted to avoid any contact with it.

The boat had a crew of six Indians and two Emiratis. A US Navy spokesman said an internal inquiry into the incident had not finished.

The US has been particularly wary of attacks on its ships since two al Qaeda suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the USS Cole in 2000, killing 17 US sailors.

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