US navy captures suspected pirates off Somali coast
Somalia-USA, Local, 1/24/2006

A US Navy guided missile destroyer captured a group of suspected pirates in the Indian Ocean January 21, approximately 87 kilometers (54 miles) off the coast of Somalia, the US Naval Forces Central Command had announced.

Personnel aboard the destroyer acted after receiving a report of an attempted piracy from the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the morning of January 20, according to the release. The US Naval Forces Central Command said the destroyer and other US naval forces in the area located the suspected pirate vessel and reported its position after receiving the report.

The US destroyer, which shadowed the pirate ship eventually requested that the crew leave the vessel and board the two small boats the vessel had in tow. Following repeated unsuccessful attempts to establish communications with the vessel, the destroyer eventually stopped the vessel.

Waters off the coast of Somalia have been plagued by recent attempts at piracy targeted against international shipping. Somalia currently is torn by renewed clashes between militias fighting for control of the country.

Previous Stories:
  Four Somalis killed in fire at a evacuees camp   (11/23/2005)
  Another politician son killed in Somalia   (11/15/2005)
  Cruise ship escapes hijack near Somali coast   (11/7/2005)
  Hijackers release UN-chartered food aid ship in Somalia   (10/14/2005)
  11 Somali emigrants killed while sailing to Yemen   (9/13/2005)

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