U.S.: Shootout among Somali pirates on ship

[Guest guest]

1) Seems the weapons were headed to Sudan, not Kenya.

2) The pirates say there was no shootout, and they are, like all good

and God-fearing Muslims, celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr.

3) A pity my own religion does not allow for piracy, stealing,

killing, holding people ransom, etc. I'd be rich.

Administrator

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26901780/

U.S.: Shootout among Somali pirates on ship

Pirate spokesman insists report isn't true as they celebrate Muslim feast

updated 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

NAIROBI, Kenya - Disagreements between Somali pirates holding a

Ukrainian ship laden with tanks and heavy weapons escalated into a

shootout and three pirates are believed dead, a U.S. defense official

said Tuesday. The pirates denied the report.

The U.S. destroyer USS and several other American ships have

surrounded the cargo ship Faina, which was hijacked Thursday and is

now anchored off the lawless coast of Somalia.

The pirates have demanded a ransom of $20 million and the U.S. Navy

cordon aims to prevent them from taking any of the weapons ashore.

The official in Washington who reported the shootout spoke on

condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the

record. He refused to elaborate.

But the pirate spokesman insisted the report was not true.

" We didn't dispute over a single thing, let alone have a shootout, "

pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by satellite

telephone Tuesday.

He said the Somali pirates were celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid

al-Fitr despite being surrounded by American warships and helicopters.

" We are happy on the ship and we are celebrating Eid, " Ali said.

" Nothing has changed. "

Ali did not say whether the ship's crew would be included in the feast

that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. One of the 21 crew

members has died, of an apparent heart attack.

Earlier Tuesday, Mwangura of the East African Seafarers'

Assistance Program cited an unconfirmed report saying three Somali

pirates were killed Monday night in a dispute over whether to

surrender. Mwangura said, however, the report was thirdhand and he had

not spoken to any witnesses.

No solution to their $20 million ransom demand for the cargo ship

Faina was yet in sight.

" We are happy on the ship and we are celebrating Eid, " pirate

spokesman Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by satellite phone.

" Nothing has changed. "

Elsewhere in Somalia, pirates freed a Malaysian tanker Tuesday after a

ransom was paid, according to a Malaysian shipping company.

U.S. joins the watch

The blue-and-white Ukrainian ship Faina has been buzzed by American

helicopters since Sunday. Pirates hijacked the Faina and its cargo of

33 Soviet-designed tanks and weapons Thursday while the ship was

passing through the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping

lanes, en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Ali said the vessel was surrounded by four warships but he could not

identify where the ships were from. The San Diego-based USS guided

missile destroyer has been watching the pirate ship for several

days and has spoken the pirates and crew by radio.

On Monday, U.S. naval officials said several other American ships had

joined the watch, but declined to give details.

U.S. Navy officials said they have allowed the pirates to resupply the

ship with food and water, but not to unload any of its military cargo,

which included T-72 tanks, ammunition, and heavy weapons that U.S.

Defense officials have said included rocket launchers.

Weapons headed to Sudan

The U.S. fears the armaments may end up with al-Qaida-linked Islamic

militants who have been fighting an insurgency against the shaky,

U.N.-backed Somali transitional government since late 2006, when the

Islamists were driven out after six months in power. More than 9,000

people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the Iraq-style

insurgency.

" Our goal is to ensure the safety of the crew, to not allow

off-loading of dangerous cargo and to make certain Faina can return to

legitimate shipping, " said Rear Adm. Kendall Card, commander of the

task force monitoring the ship.

Russia has also dispatched a warship to the area, but it will take

about a week to get there.

American military officials and diplomats say the weapons are destined

for southern Sudan.

The oil-rich south was promised a referendum in 2011 on independence

from the rest of Sudan as part of a peace deal that ended a 21-year

civil war three years ago. Southern Sudanese officials said they were

" surprised " to hear reports that the tanks and arms were destined for

them.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian shipping line MISC Berhad said Tuesday that

Somalia pirates released the seized palm oil tanker, MT Bunga Melati

2, on Monday, two days after its first vessel was released.

Chairman Hassan Marican said a ransom was paid for both vessels but

declined to reveal the amount. All 79 crew on both ships are safe but

were traumatized and will undergo counseling, he said.

Piracy has become a lucrative criminal racket in impoverished Somalia,

bringing in tens of millions of dollars a year in ransom. There have

been 24 reported attacks in Somalia this year, according to the

International Maritime Bureau.

Most pirate attacks occur in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's

busiest shipping lanes, to the north of Somalia. But recently pirates

have been targeting Indian Ocean waters off eastern Somalia.

In all, 62 ships have been attacked in the notorious African waters

this year. A total of 26 ships were hijacked, and 12 remain in the

hands of the pirates along with more than 200 crew members.

International warships are patrolling the area and have created a

special security corridor under a U.S.-led initiative, but attacks

have not abated.

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