Bush expresses regret on fatal Egypt canal shooting

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush called Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday to express regret over an incident in which a cargo ship chartered by the U.S. Navy opened fire on an Egyptian motorboat, the White House said.

"President Bush expressed his deep regret and sympathies for the incident in the Suez Canal and said the United States will fully investigate this," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said aboard Air Force One.

Egyptian security sources and witnesses said the gunfire killed an Egyptian trader on the motorboat and wounded two other people. The U.S. Navy initially said it recorded no casualties but later acknowledged one person had been killed by a warning shot.

The cargo ship Global Patriot, on a short-term charter to the military, fired warning shots near the Egyptian motorboat after it ignored verbal orders and a signal flare telling it to stay away, the Navy said.

The ship was waiting to pass through the Suez Canal when the incident occurred, the Navy said.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Bill Trott)