Somali Pirates Strike Again, Seize Tugboat

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 11, 2009 10:11 AM CDT
Somali Pirates Strike Again, Seize Tugboat
An undated photo shows hijackers aboard a French yacht, before security teams launched a raid. One of the hostages was killed.   (AP Photo/ECPAD-French Defense Ministry)

A little international publicity won't deter Somali pirates. Hijackers seized a tugboat in the Gulf of Aden today, the AP reports. The vessel is Italian-owned—initial reports said American—and at least 10 of its 16 crew members are Italian. The tugboat had been towing two barges off Somalia's northern coast. The hijacking takes places as the standoff continues between the Navy and pirates holding an American hostage in a lifeboat.

The new hijacking "shows the pirates are becoming more daring and violent," one maritime official told Reuters. (More pirates stories.)

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