Pakistani Captain killed as soldiers free Hijacked Ship from Pirates

[sparklingway]

Pakistani captain of hijacked ship killed​

Friday, 04 Jun, 2010

NAIROBI: Security forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region stormed a hijacked cargo vessel early on Thursday and outgunned the pirates holding it after they fatally shot the ship’s Pakistani captain, authorities said.

Authorities decided to try and free the Panama-flagged ship by force after pirates refused pleas to surrender and instead killed the captain, said Saeed Mohamed Raage, who is the minister of marine transport and ports in the region.

“We can’t afford letting pirates capture Somali-charted ships. If we don’t act so decisively they will continue hijacking all Somali-bound cargo ships,” Raage said.

Two officers were wounded during a brief shootout with the pirates and ultimately all seven pirates were detained, he said.

While rescue operations by Somali ragtag security forces are rare, it’s not the first time they have tried to free a ship. In 2008, they stormed a hijacked ship carrying food to the war-ravaged, poor country, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates.

The QSM Dubai had been hijacked on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden while headed for a port in the breakaway northern region of Somaliland. The crew aboard the ship hailed from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. —AP

Somali troops storm cargo ship but pirates kill captain​

Somalia (Reuters) - Soldiers from Somalia's Puntland region stormed a Panama-flagged cargo vessel held by pirates, but gang members killed the captain in the operation, a minister said on Thursday.

World

"Our troops stormed the Panama-flagged vessel and engaged the pirates. There was brief fighting before they defeated them," Said Mohamed Raage, Minister of Ports and Marine Transport, told Reuters. "We arrested seven pirates after they killed the captain of the ship."

Semi-autonomous Puntland is a base for sea gangs targeting the Gulf of Aden, but is more peaceful than the rest of the failed Horn of Africa state.

Pirates seized the MV QSM Dubai cargo ship and its 24 crew members from Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana on Wednesday. The 15,220 deadweight tonne vessel was taken inside the internationally recommended transit corridor and had come from Brazil.

Raage said the ship was carrying sugar to Bossaso.

(Reporting by Abdiqani Hassan; Editing by Helen Nyambura)

 

[Icarus]

Very Sad, the Horn of Africa region is really starting to become a thorn in the world's behind, metaphorically speaking.

 

[Huda]

BAD news..........

 

[Kompromat]

Damn , these Somali pirates are Morons.

 

[ek_indian]

Sad news. May the dead RIP.

 

[P.kid]

may this guy rest in peace.