Somalia

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20 Killed in Somali Bombing
 20 Killed in Somali Bombing 
Jun 18, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

20 Killed in Somali Bombing

(Newser) - A suicide bombing outside a hotel in western Somalia killed at least 20 people today including the national security minister. The Somali president accused al-Qaeda of being behind the attack. A witness said a small car headed toward the gate of the Medina Hotel in Belet Weyne, then drove into...

Al-Qaeda Militants Leaving Pakistan for Yemen, Somalia

Dozens have left, US officials say

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda fighters from Pakistan have started leaving isolated tribal areas and moving far afield to Somalia and Yemen, the New York Times reports. Some US officials point to stepped up drone attacks against militants in Pakistan for the development, which involves relatively small numbers so far. But the growth of...

Bin Laden in Pakistan: CIA Head

Finding leader remains 'major priority,' he says

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden is still in Pakistan and his arrest remains a top priority for the US, CIA Director Leon Panetta said today, adding that joint operations with Pakistani forces could finally net al-Qaeda’s top leader. The CIA has Pakistani informants that keep it abreast of terrorist targets there,...

Int'l Pirate Patrols Spar With Language Barriers

Diverse crews learn to communicate

(Newser) - The international fleet patrolling for pirates off the coast of Somalia is on guard against an oceanic traffic jam, too, the Military Times reports. One US admiral likened the problem to young soccer players swarming the ball, saying communications were necessary for an efficient response. There are three separate international...

Navy Probes SEALs Over Missing Pirate Money

(Newser) - The Navy is questioning the crew of the Maersk Alabama and members of its own SEAL unit about $30,000 that went missing from the hijacked cargo ship, the New York Post reports. The money was taken by the pirates during the hijacking attempt but was not recovered after they...

UK Cell Feeds Intel to Somali Pirates

(Newser) - Somali pirates are being aided by an information-gathering “consultant” team in London, the Guardian reports. According to a European intelligence report, the pirates use satellite phones to stay in touch with the London cell, which has access to specific information about routes and ship layouts provided to European governments....

Somali Clerics Lead Backlash Against Pirates

Religious sheikhs preach against sea bandits and their un-Islamic ways

(Newser) - Somalia's pirates are facing an enemy on land many of them fear more than foreign warships, the New York Times reports. Sheikhs and Islamic clerics are preaching against the "burcad badeed"—Somali for sea bandits—accusing them of introducing evils like drugs and alcohol to Somali society and...

Somali Pirates Seize German Ship, 11 Crew

(Newser) - 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...

French Bullet Killed Somali Pirate Hostage

Man died in crossfire as troops stormed captive yacht in April

(Newser) - French forces who stormed a yacht captured by Somali pirates on April 10 also shot dead one of the five hostages on board, Radio France Internationale reports. Prosecutors had said last month that it was unclear who was responsible for the bullet that killed Florent Lemaçon, who was caught...

French Ship Grabs 11 Pirates Off of Somalia

Navy intercepted two assault vessels and a 'mothership' today

(Newser) - A French naval vessel has intercepted 11 armed pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman, who says the pirates were traveling in two assault vessels and a so-called "mothership" loaded with provisions, Kalashnikovs, rockets, and rocket launchers. He says all 11 are Somali nationals.

Pirates Hijack Brit Ship; NATO Forces Recover Explosives

(Newser) - Somali pirates have hijacked a British-owned cargo ship crewed by Ukrainians, a NATO spokesman tells the AP. The Maltese-flagged Ariana was hijacked northwest of the Seychelles islands about 1,000 miles from NATO's operating area. Also today, a Portuguese warship seized explosives from suspected Somali pirates after thwarting an attack...

Russian Ship Seizes 29 Suspected Pirates

Say the same ship had attacked a tanker

(Newser) - A Russian warship has seized a vessel carrying 29 suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia, RIA Novosti and other agencies are reporting, citing the nation's Defense Ministry. A Russian anti-submarine vessel seized the ship yesterday along with automatic rifles, pistols, and ammunition found on board.

Italian Cruise Ship Shoots Back at Pirates, Foils Attack

Captain's use force wards off buccaneers

(Newser) - An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 passengers survived a pirate attack yesterday when the ship's captain ordered his security crew to fire back, CNN reports. The six armed men fled in their speedboat after drawing fire from the Melody, which was sailing off the coast of Somalia on the...

Pirates Seize German Ship
 Pirates Seize German Ship 
Apr 25, 2009 12:08 PM CDT

Pirates Seize German Ship

(Newser) - Hijackers seized a German-owned ship in the pirate-infested waters between Somalia and Yemen today, a US Navy spokesman said. Pirates captured the Maltese-flagged MV Patriot in the Gulf of Aden about 150 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni coastal city of Muqalla. An official from the German Foreign Ministry could...

Captain: 'I Didn't Think I'd Ever Get Out of That Boat'

Capt. Richard Phillips credits Navy

(Newser) - Capt. Richard Phillips thought he'd never escape the Somali pirates holding him hostage, MSNBC reports. “I didn't think I'd ever get out of that boat," Phillips tells Matt Lauer in a Today Show interview airing Tuesday. He had resigned himself for the worst. “It was just settling...

Aargh! Buccaneer High on the Pirate Life

Fisherman turned bandit after foreigners plundered ocean

(Newser) - The pirating life isn’t easy, but the rewards are many and some Somalis see the bandits as heroes, one buccaneer tells the BBC. The man, 25, says he used to be a fisherman, but he signed up with the hijackers after "illegal fishing and dumping of toxic wastes...

Teen Pirate Will Be Tried as Adult; Faces Life in Prison

(Newser) - The sole surviving pirate from an attack on an American cargo ship off the Somali coast will be tried as an adult after he was portrayed today as the brazen ringleader of a band of pirates who shot at the ship's captain and bragged about prior acts of piracy. The...

Mom: Captured Pirate Was Duped

She says he may have needed money

(Newser) - He’s at the center of the first piracy trial the US has seen in more than a century, but Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse’s mother says he’s a victim. “He was brainwashed,” she tells the AP. “People who are older than him duped him.” Muse,...

Nabbed Pirate Arrives in NY
 Nabbed Pirate 
 Arrives in NY 
Apr 21, 2009 3:16 AM CDT

Nabbed Pirate Arrives in NY

Teen hauled to New York as mom appeals for clemency

(Newser) - The only pirate to survive the attempted hijacking of the Maersk Alabama has arrived in New York to face charges, the New York Daily News reports. Abduhl Wali-i-Musi, manacled and flanked by a dozen agents, smiled for photographers as he was led into FBI headquarters in Manhattan. Investigators have determined...

Somali Pirates Release Togo Ship, Score $100K Ransom

Tanker was to deliver food aid to Somalia

(Newser) - Somali pirates have released a Togo-flagged cargo ship that was to deliver food aid to their own country, the BBC reports, but only after securing a ransom rumored to be $100,000. “Somali traders were involved in the release,” a pirate source told Reuters. They paid “not...

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