'Warnings were issued before US navy fired'

The Pentagon insisted that the United States naval ship had issued several warning to a fishing boat in the Persian Gulf before it fired shots killing an Indian fisherman and injuring three others.

"Based on what we know now, a series of warning measures were issued to the oncoming vessel. Those warnings were not heeded, and the vessel was fired upon," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters.

An Indian fisherman was killed and three others were wounded when a security team onboard the US Navy ship fired at their small boat off the Dubai coast.

"We certainly regret the loss of life in this incident.

There were in fact warning measures that were taken, based on what we know now. This is under investigation and we'll know the full facts of this incident once that investigation is complete," he said.

"The USNS Rappahannock escalated warning measures in response to a potential threat posed by this vessel," he said.