WASHINGTON – U.S. officials told NBC News on Tuesday that a small civilian boat was within 150 yards of a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf when it was fired upon, killing one and wounding three others on board.

The small skiff was heading straight for the USNS Rappahannock and ignored repeated warnings before the ship’s crew opened fire with a 50-caliber machine gun, officials said.

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The entire incident took place within a three-minute window about 10 miles offshore from Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Monday.

US vessel fires on boat in Gulf, killing one and injuring three

Pentagon officials on Tuesday released detailed timings of the incident, which began at 2:50 p.m. local time (5:50 a.m. ET). All times local.

2:50pm
The vessel, a motorized skiff, sighted at 5 miles, approaching Rappahannock from starboard (right) side at 20-25 knots.

2:51pm
The skiff now at 1200 yards when it turned inbound, headed directly for the Rappahannock

2:51pm
Rappahannock begins first phase of non-lethal warnings, radio, flashing lights. At 900 yards, the crew on the skiff ignores warnings and continues course directly at Rappahannock.

2:52pm
Now at 150 yards, skiff continues to ignore non-lethal warnings and continues course at Rappahannock.

2:52pm
As the skiff approaches 100 yards, the Rappahannock security team opens fire with a 50-caliber machine gun, killing one and wounding three others on board. The skiff slows for the first time, turns and circles around the stern and moves slowly up the port (left) side.

2:53pm
About 90 yards off the Rappahannock, the skiff comes to a stop.  Rappahannock goes to full speed to put distance between the two vessels.  The skiff is then seen departing the area.

It is unclear whether the dead and injured are from the United Arab Emirates or India, but U.S officials stress there is no indication that Iran or Iranians were in anyway involved.

The Pentagon also announced Monday that it is sending the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to the Persian Gulf region – four months earlier than previously scheduled. The Stennis strike group, which also includes the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and some 5,500 sailors, will also be on an eight month deployment – twice as long as the group was originally scheduled to be deployed.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. officials tell NBC News that at least one person was killed and three others injured when a U.S. Navy ship, the USNS Rappahannock, opened fire on a small boat about 10 miles offshore from Dubai in the Persian Gulf on Monday.

The U.S. officials say the boat, possibly a pleasure craft, ignored warnings and was closing in on the U.S. Navy supply ship in an "aggressive and threatening manner."

The crew aboard the Navy ship sent out repeated warnings, including radio calls, flashing lights, lasers and ultimately warning shots from a 50-caliber machine gun.  When the boat failed to heed the warnings, the crew was ordered to open fire with the 50-caliber gun.

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According to a press release from the Navy, “in accordance with Navy force protection procedures, the sailors on the USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204) used a series of non-lethal, preplanned responses to warn the vessel before resorting to lethal force.”

U.S. officials say as of now it's unclear whether the dead and injured are from the United Arab Emirates or India, but they stress there is no indication that Iran or Iranians were in anyway involved in Monday's incident.

A U.S. Navy investigation is under way.

Iran: We can destroy US bases 'minutes after attack' 

Rising tensions
The Pentagon also announced Monday that it is sending the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis to the Persian Gulf region – four months earlier than previously scheduled. The Stennis strike group, which also includes the Aegis guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and some 5,500 sailors, will also be on an eight month deployment – twice as long as the group was originally scheduled to be deployed. 

This major shift in the Stennis deployment is a response to the steadily rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program, Iran's threat to shut down the Strait of Hormuz over tighter international sanctions, and the possibility that Israel may launch preemptive airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facility.

Full international coverage from NBCNews.com

The shift and extension of the Stennis deployment will allow CENTCOM to keep two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf region, Gulf of Oman and North Arabian Sea, not only as a hedge against Iran, but to support combat air operations over Afghanistan.

The aircraft Carrier USS Lincoln left the Persian Gulf area Monday.

Aircraft carrier USS Stennis going to Persian Gulf early, staying longer

The carriers Enterprise and Eisenhower will remain in the region until the Stennis relieves the Enterprise about five months from now.   

 Please check back in on this developing story. 

 NBC News' Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube at the Pentagon, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Defense officials have told NBC News that the Army staff sergeant who allegedly shot and killed 16 Afghan civilians, including nine children, admitted his actions to fellow soldiers just before he was taken into custody.

"I did it," he is said to have told them.

According to the officials, a search party that included helicopters was formed after an Afghan soldier reported the American had left their small remote outpost in the early morning hours. In the meantime, the base received word that a number of civilians had been killed in a shooting spree at a nearby village.

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Overhead surveillance first spotted the soldier on his stomach in a field, either attempting to hide or crawl toward the base.  He eventually stood up and walked a short distance to the base where he was confronted and asked about the shootings at the village.  The officials say the staff sergeant replied "I did it."  At that point he was disarmed and taken into custody.  He then asked for a lawyer and has refused to talk ever since.

 

The officials also said they’ve received reports that the soldier was having marital problems and had recently received a troubling letter or email from his wife. According to one official, after four combat deployments it’s not unusual there would be stress on the family.

Defense officials also told NBC News that investigators have reason to believe that alcohol "may" have been a contributing factor in the shooting spree.

The investigation found bottles of alcohol on the small remote base where the staff sergeant was deployed.  The officials emphasize "may" because they say that nowhere in the reporting from the field is there any indication the staff sergeant was inebriated.

The soldier, reportedly married with two children, enlisted in the Army soon after the terror attacks of Sept. 11 and did three combat tours in Iraq before arriving in Kandahar, near where the shootings took place, in December 2011.

US soldier accused in Afghan massacre had brain injury history

Reports that the soldier had received post-traumatic stress disorder examinations are not unusual, since every soldier coming out of combat is routinely screened for PTSD.

The soldier suffered some minor traumatic brain injury in a rollover in Iraq in 2010, but that part of his medical history does not appear at this point to be a factor, according to the officials. They also said the man has a clean medical and behavior record.

Obama: Killing Afghans as serious as killing Americans

Col. Gary Kolb, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Kabul, told The Associated Press a 48-hour probable cause assessment has been completed and that the service member continues to be confined.

Additionally, the officials told NBC News that the the military is considering capital murder charges against the soldier, meaning he could face the death penalty if convicted. They said the military also intends to conduct his court martial hearing in Afghanistan. Not only would it send the right signal to the Afghan people, officials said, but trying him in the United States or another country in the region would also present a logistics nightmare given the number of witnesses that would be expected to testify.

Military investigators in Afghanistan hope to file charges and release the identity of the soldier by the end of the week, but warn it could take another two weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Updated at 7:15 p.m. ET: Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, also rescued an American and a Dane held hostage in Somalia, U.S. officials said, but the same service members were not involved in both missions, U.S. officials said. Wednesday.

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET: The Navy SEALs that rescued the American and Danish hostages in Somalia on Tuesday were not the same individuals who killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials told NBC News, contradicting an earlier news service report.

Published at 1:15 a.m. ET: In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group.

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According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held. 

As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

The SEALs gathered up Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good condition.

The two had been working for the Danish Refugee Council on a demining project in northern Somalia. The humanitarian group has been providing relief to some 450,000 refugees in the Somalia-Kenya border region.

News reports at the time said the two were kidnapped Oct. 25 along with a Somali colleague when their three-car convoy was stopped on the way to an airport. A self-proclaimed Somali pirate said they had been kidnapped for ransom by pirates stymied by Western nations' efforts to stop the seizure of ships off the coast. The fate of the Somali colleague was unclear.    

STORY: Second American, a writer, held in Somalia; rescue next?

The first indication of the rescue operation came Tuesday night in Washington from President Barack Obama himself. 

As the president entered the House chambers to give his State of the Union Speech, he pointed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta standing in the crowd and said, "Leon. Good job tonight. Good job tonight."

The president made no mention of the hostage rescue, but finished his speech with a reference to the killing of Osama bin Laden last May in a similar operation to the one conducted by Navy SEALs Tuesday night. 

Updated at 5:57 a.m. ET: In a statement sent to NBC News and other media, Obama says that he authorized the operation to rescue Buchanan.

"Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our Special Operations Forces, yesterday Jessica Buchanan was rescued and she is on her way home," he says. "As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts."

Obama, who spoke to Buchanan's father Tuesday night, says she was "selflessly serving her fellow human beings when she was taken hostage by criminals and pirates who showed no regard for her health and well-being."

He says he told her father that "all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."

"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice," Obama adds. "This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."

Updated at 6:50 a.m. ET: A statement from U.S. Africa Command says U.S. forces had received "actionable intelligence" about Buchanan and Thisted and decided to take action.

"During the course of the operation, the rescue force patrolled to the location and confirmed the presence of Mrs. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted guarded by nine captors," the statement says. "All nine captors were killed during the assault."

General Carter F. Ham, of U.S. Africa Command, says in the statement that the raid, which took place near Gadaado, was "boldly conducted by some of our nation's most courageous, competent, and committed special operations forces."

"Thanks to them a fellow American and her Danish co-worker are safe and will soon be home with their families," he adds.

Updated at 6:55 a.m. ET: A statement from Panetta says he is "grateful to report that there was no loss of life or injuries to our personnel."

He says the rescue -- "undertaken in a hostile environment" -- showed the "superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others." 

"They are heroes and continue to inspire all of us by their bravery and service to our nation," he says.

Updated at 10:35 a.m. ET: Pentagon officials told NBC News that they are characterizing the people who took Buchanan and Thisted hostage as "criminal suspects,"  rather than pirates. They said the U.S. military has no firm information about whether the captors were connected to pirates or an Islamic militant group like al-Shabaab.

See more of Jim Miklaszewski's reporting on the SEALs raid tonight on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams.

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