US Military May Strike Pirates on Land

Eight pirates captured while trying to escape

(NEWSER) - A US warship stepped in to defend a Tanzanian ship that was under attack from pirates, scaring off and capturing the scallywags. When the USS Farragut got a distress call from the Tanzanians saying a gang on a skiff was attacking them, a Seahawk helicopter was dispatched to the scene. The pirates fled at the sight of the copter, but it stopped their skiff by firing across its bow. More»

(AP) - Somali pirates have hijacked a German cargo ship carrying a crew of 11 in the Gulf of Aden, the latest seizure by high-seas bandits who are holding hundreds of merchant mariners hostage, the AP reports.The MV Victoria was captured yesterday 75 miles south of Yemen. There is no information on the condition of the Romanian crew aboard the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship. More»

They were young men 'with heavy arms:' Gates

(NEWSER) - Capt. Richard Phillips’ captors were young men new to high-seas crime, AFP reports. The Somali pirates, aged 17-19, were “untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, adding that Somalia needs “something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids.” Navy snipers killed three of the men during yesterday’s high-seas rescue mission. More»

US Navy comes to rescue after suspicious craft approach liner in dangerous waters

(NEWSER) - Frightened British cruise ship passengers were herded below decks in a chilling encounter with Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Sun reports. The crew sent up flares and fashioned fake guns out of wood to appear to be armed when they spotted two suspicious small craft speeding toward the liner. A US Navy ship sped to the scene and escorted the Balmoral to safety. More»

(NEWSER) - The US Navy today let pirates around the Horn of Africa know that there's a new sheriff in town. A Navy vessel arrested seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden after they attempted to board a commercial tanker, CNN reports. The arrests are the first by a US-led international task force to clamp down on pirates in the region. The suspects will be transferred to Kenya for trial. More»