Pirates, Somalia | featured news

Somali pirates who have been holding a hijacked ship for nearly two years killed a Syrian hostage crew member and wounded another to protest delayed ransom payment, a pirate leader said....

U.S. military forces flew in helicopters under the cover of darkness on a raid into Somalia early Wednesday and freed an American and a Dane held hostage since October, Western officials said.

Eleven suspected pirates have arrived in the United States to face criminal prosecution for alleged attacks on U.S. Navy ships near Somalia, a federal government source said Friday.

Pirates off Somalia have hijacked two more vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the European Union naval force said today -- making a total of four captured this week.

The American-flag ship seized by pirates in April repelled the attack; a captain was killed in a separate incident.

U.S. military surveillance drones are patrolling off Somalia's coast for the first time in hopes of stemming a rising piracy trade.

Somalia government leaders say they could deal more effectively and cheaply with the piracy problem off their shores if the international community would provide funding.

With foreign warships looming off its shores and a worldwide debate raging over how to defeat piracy, leaders in this seaside Somali capital say there's a solution that could be fast, simple and relatively cheap: the Somalis themselves.

The American captain of a cargo ship held hostage by pirates on a lifeboat off the coast of Somalia was rescued today by Navy SEALs. "We saw the captain was in imminent danger," a U.S. official said. The SEALs shot and killed three of his four captors, the official said. Capt.

Pirates have seized two European-owned tankers off the coast of Somalia in the past day, Nato shipping officials say.

The U.S. Navy and Russian warships seized 26 pirates this week in the seas off the coast of Somalia, even as attacks by pirates increase with the return of good weather.