Somalia

Somali pirates attack second US vessel

SomaliaLondon, Apr. 15 : Somali pirates have attacked another US merchant ship off the coast of Somalia using rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.

The pirates damaged the Liberty Sun, which was carrying a cargo of food aid, but were not able to board it, reports the BBC.

After coming under fire, the Liberty Sun immediately requested assistance from the USS Bainbridge, said owners Liberty Maritime Corp in a statement.

Killed Somali pirates were all untrained boys with heavy weapons: Gates

Somali piratesWashington, Apr. 14 : The Somali pirates picked off by Navy Seal sharpshooters for holding Captain. Richard Phillips hostage were a ragged band of boys with little experience, but had plenty of weapons, the New York Post quoted officials, as saying yesterday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the four brigands who took Phillips captive after a botched hijacking of the Maersk Alabama were only 17 to 19 years old.

"Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons," Gates told a students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia.

Somali pirates vow revenge for death of three colleagues

SomaliaLondon, Apr. 13 : Somali pirates have vowed to take revenge for the deaths of three colleagues.

US Navy snipers shot dead three Somali pirates in a daring assault that freed a captive American captain after a five-day standoff in the Indian Ocean.

The Navy Seals rescued freighter captain Richard Phillips.

Navy Seals kill three Somali pirates

Navy SealsNew York, Apr. 13 : Navy Seals killed three Somali pirates and rescued an American ship captain in a daring operation in the Indian Ocean on Sunday.

The encounter ended a five-day hostage standoff between United States naval forces and a small band of brigands in a covered orange lifeboat off the Horn of Africa, reports the New York Times.

Acting on President Obama’s authorization and in the belief that Captain Richard Phillips was in imminent danger of being killed by his captors, the Navy Seals opened fire and picked off the three captors who were on the fantail of the destroyer Bainbridge.

Somali elders in fresh attempt to free US captain

Somali elders in fresh attempt to free US captainNairobi - Somali elders on Sunday began a fresh attempt to secure the release of an American captain being held hostage by pirates on a lifeboat surrounded by US Navy warships, reports said. The move comes a day after other pirates seized an Italian tugboat - the seventh vessel taken in the last nine days.

Pirates have been holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage on the lifeboat since Wednesday, following a failed attempt to hijack his ship, the Maersk Alabama , in the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres off the coast of Somalia.

Somali pirates rush to help comrades in US Navy face-off

Nairobi/Washington - Somali pirates were on Saturday rushing to the aid of their comrades, who are holding the captain of a US-flagged ship hostage on a lifeboat surrounded by US Navy forces, media reports said. Pirates have been holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage since Wednesday, following a failed attempt to hijack his ship, the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama, in the Indian Ocean near the coast of Somalia.

The USS Bainbridge, part of a coalition force based in the Gulf of Aden, arrived on the scene on Thursday morning and was joined on Friday by the USS Halyburton, Commander Peter Schneider, a spokesman for the US Defence Department, said.

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