BBC NEWS | Africa | US captain rescued from pirates - 0 views
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US navy snipers have shot dead three pirates holding a US captain in a boat off Somalia, in a dramatic rescue authorised by President Barack Obama.
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Capt Richard Phillips, hailed as a hero for his actions during the hijacking of his vessel last week, was unharmed and has been resting aboard a US warship
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Capt Philips was seized by the pirates last Wednesday after his ship the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
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After pirates scrambled aboard using ropes and hooks from a small boat and began shooting in the air, Capt Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crew members said. He was then taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was soon shadowed by US warships and a helicopter. He tried to escape on Thursday night by diving into the sea but was recaptured by the pirates and negotiations broke down on Saturday, the navy says.
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Admiral Gortney said the military end to the hostage incident might raise the stakes for pirates in the region. "This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it," he told reporters.
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In Eyl, a pirate stronghold on the Somali coast, one self-proclaimed pirate said the US navy had become the "number one enemy". "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them [the hostages]," he told the Associated Press by telephone.