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| Africa Horn |
| SK special forces retake ship, kill 8 Somali pirates |
| 2011-01-21 |
| South Korean special forces have retaken the Korean-owned, Maltese-flag product tanker MV Samho Jewelry, which had been hijacked January 15 when 350 nautical miles southeast of the port of Muscat, Oman. Eight pirates were killed and five were taken prisoner in the operation which was authorized by Korea's President Lee Myung-bak. All 21 members of the crew, including eight Korean citizens, were freed. The ship's Korean captain received a gunshot wound that is reported to be non life threatening. Three South Korean soldiers suffered minor injuries and were sent to a hospital in Oman. The Cheonghae Unit is a Republic of Korea Navy anti-piracy unit operating as part of Combined Task Force 151 The South Korean destroyer Choi Young has been pursuing the 11,500-ton Samho Jewelry since early this week. According to Korean media reports, today's operation started at 4:58 a.m. (local time) with Navy SEALs aboard three boats closing in on the Samho Jewelry. The operation was launched when intelligence was received that a "mother ship" was headed from Somalia with pirate reinforcements. The operation, which took place 1,300 kilometers off northeast Somalia, lasted about five hours. Nice work... |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #10 good too read some good news for once |
| Posted by: chris 2011-01-21 19:47 |
| #9 PETA is going to go after SK for poisoning the sharks. |
| Posted by: Charles 2011-01-21 19:23 |
| #8 ...some pirates armed with AK-47 rifles left the Samho Jewelry in a small boat to hijack a Mongolian freighter. And here I thought the Swiss Navy had that escort duty. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-01-21 14:37 |
| #7 that Mother Ship should have been "lost at sea, no survivors" as well. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-01-21 14:04 |
| #6 They don't seem too concerned about checking that out. I can't tell you how concerned they were. It's just that it was lunchtime, and you know how union rules are. |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-01-21 13:35 |
| #5 Looks like two separate attempts, one on Tuesday and the successful one today. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-01-21 13:14 |
| #4 As far as timing goes, irritating SKor right now would seem to be an incredibly bad idea. In the best of times ROK soldiers are temperamental. Right now they are positively itching for some knock down drag out. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-01-21 13:06 |
| #3 More from the Korea Times... The unprecedented rescue operation, which had been kept top secret since it started early this week, took place in high seas about 1,300 kilometers off northeast Somalia. On Tuesday, the Cheonghae unit carried out its first rescue mission, but had to retreat after three South Korean Special Forces troops were wounded in a gun battle, a spokesman at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.“None of the three, identified as a lieutenant commander, a senior chief petty officer and a petty officer 1st class, had life threatening injuries but they were taken to a hospital in Oman,” JCS spokesman Lee Bung-woo said. He said the Cheonghae unit launched the operation after some pirates armed with AK-47 rifles left the Samho Jewelry in a small boat to hijack a Mongolian freighter. The Cheonghae unit’s Lynx helicopter attacked the boat, killing all of the pirates onboard. "Three of our soldiers suffered superficial injuries as they were fired upon by pirates Tuesday," Lee said. "Our Lynx helicopter immediately returned fire and several pirates fell into the waters. We believe they are dead." Since Tuesday, a standoff between the South Korean destroyer and the Somali pirates had continued. An Omani Navy ship arrived at the scene of the confrontation to support the rescue operation. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-01-21 12:48 |
| #2 During the Vietnam War the South Koreans were known for killing anything and everything that interfered with pacifying their AO. Nice to see they haven't forgotten. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2011-01-21 12:20 |
| #1 "Three of our soldiers suffered light scratches on their bodies as they were fired upon by pirates on Tuesday," he added. "Our Lynx helicopter immediately returned fire and several pirates fell into the waters. We believe they are dead." They don't seem too concerned about checking that out. Well, sharks gotta eat too... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-01-21 12:02 |