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Somali security forces free Panama ship from pirates
(SomaliNet) Two days after they killed one of the hijackers in a gun battle, Somali security forces freed a Panamanian ship from pirates on Tuesday, officials said.
"Strike yer colors, ye scurvy dogs, or I'll send yez to the bottom!"
"Ummm... Cap'n? That's my ship..."
"Shuddup."
The Wail was seized by heavily armed Somali gunmen on Thursday as it carried cement to Bosasso from Oman.
"Bring up them chests, boys! Let's see what kinda loot... Oh. Cement."
There are thought to be nine Syrian and two Somali crew members onboard.
"Put a shot across her bows, Mr. Muslim!"
"Aye aye, Cap'n!"
[KABOOM!]
"Aaaaiiieee!"
"A little higher next time, Mr. Muslim!"
"We have succeeded in saving the Panama-flagged ship and its crew," Ali Abdi Aware, state minister for the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region, told Reuters.
"Most of them, anyway."
"The pirates have surrendered and the ship is in our hands now." Puntland's fisheries minister, Ahmed Said Ow Nur, said 10 hijackers were arrested and two soldiers wounded in the raid.
"Clap 'em in irons, Mr. Muslim!"
"Aye aye, Cap'n!"
"You men! How badly are you wounded?"
"Ow!"
"Ouch!"
"Ship's doctor! A bandaid and an aspirin for each of these men!"
"Aye aye, Cap'n!"
"The ship is now sailing towards Bosasso," he told Reuters.
"Helmsman, lay a course for Bosasso! And make it quick!"
Another senior Puntland government official said the Wail had been slightly damaged during an earlier shoot-out on Sunday in which one pirate and one Somali soldier were killed. Sources say Puntland security forces also seized two of the speedboats used by the gang during that operation, and had been surrounding the Panamanian-flagged vessel since then.
"Mr. Muslim!"
"Sir!"
"Drop a few rounds of shot into their speedboats. See how they..."
[DROP!]
[CRASH!]
[GURGLE!]
[SINK!]
"We give up!"
"Yeah! We quit!"
"... like it."
Somali pirates have hijacked more than 30 ships so far this year and received ransoms totaling $18-30 million, making the waters off the Horn of Africa nation the world's most dangerous. In the highest profile case for years, ransom talks are continuing after they seized a Ukrainian vessel, the MV Faina, which was loaded with 33 T-72 tanks and other weaponry.
Posted by: Fred 2008-10-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=252689