UnitedSomalia
Banned
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Soldiers of a regional government, with guns blazing, freed a Panama-flagged cargo ship Tuesday that pirates had held off the Somali coast for five days, according to an official from the region.
Also Tuesday, other pirates failed to act on their threat to blow up a Ukrainian ship laden with weapons that has been held for nearly three weeks, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The Panamanian-flagged vessel and its 11 crew members — nine Syrians and two Somalis — were freed after a gunbattle in which one soldier was killed and three wounded, said Deputy Seaport Minister Abdiqadir Muse Geele. No hostages or pirates were hurt, Geele said.
The 10 pirates who had held the ship since Thursday surrendered when they ran out of ammunition, said Geele, a deputy minister in the government of the northern Somalia semiautonomous region of Puntland.
Pirates had threatened to destroy Ukrainian ship by early Tuesday unless ransom was paid. But the U.S. Navy said the deadline passed without incident.
The MV Faina, carrying a crew of 20 and a cargo of heavy weapons, is still in one piece, said Lt. Stephanie Murdock, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet in Bahrain.
American warships continue to monitor the Faina, which is docked near the Somali port of Hobyo, Murdock said.
A spokesman for the pirates said Monday they were considering extending the deadline. They have held the ship and its crew for almost three weeks.
Pirates have seized more than two dozen ships this year off Somalia's coast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_piracy;_ylt=AhRjV66zlKdLqYOtG2ZKI1696Q8F
Also Tuesday, other pirates failed to act on their threat to blow up a Ukrainian ship laden with weapons that has been held for nearly three weeks, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The Panamanian-flagged vessel and its 11 crew members — nine Syrians and two Somalis — were freed after a gunbattle in which one soldier was killed and three wounded, said Deputy Seaport Minister Abdiqadir Muse Geele. No hostages or pirates were hurt, Geele said.
The 10 pirates who had held the ship since Thursday surrendered when they ran out of ammunition, said Geele, a deputy minister in the government of the northern Somalia semiautonomous region of Puntland.
Pirates had threatened to destroy Ukrainian ship by early Tuesday unless ransom was paid. But the U.S. Navy said the deadline passed without incident.
The MV Faina, carrying a crew of 20 and a cargo of heavy weapons, is still in one piece, said Lt. Stephanie Murdock, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet in Bahrain.
American warships continue to monitor the Faina, which is docked near the Somali port of Hobyo, Murdock said.
A spokesman for the pirates said Monday they were considering extending the deadline. They have held the ship and its crew for almost three weeks.
Pirates have seized more than two dozen ships this year off Somalia's coast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081014/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_piracy;_ylt=AhRjV66zlKdLqYOtG2ZKI1696Q8F