Posted on 12/13/2008 1:10:55 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
NEW DELHI - The Indian navy captured 23 pirates who threatened a merchant vessel Saturday in the lawless waters of the Gulf of Aden, where dozens of ships have come under attack by gunmen in recent months.
An Indian navy ship, the INS Mysore, was escorting merchant ships in the region near Somalia when it received a distress call from seamen on board the MV Gibe, who said they were being attacked by two boats.
The distress call said the pirates were firing as their boats closed in on the Gibe, according to a statement from the Indian government. The pirate boats attempted to escape when they saw the Mysore and its helicopter, but were boarded by Indian marine commandos, the statement said.
The pirates had "a substantial cache of arms and equipment," including seven AK-47 assault rifles, three machine guns, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and other weapons, the statement said. They also found a GPS receiver and other equipment.
The pirates were from Somalia and Yemen, two countries on the coast of the Gulf of Aden.
The Gibe was flying an Ethiopian flag, the statement said, but there was no further information about the ship.
Last month, India's navy drew criticism after sinking a Thai fishing trawler that had been commandeered hours earlier by pirates. At least one Thai crew member was killed in the attack, which the Indian navy had originally announced by saying it had sunk a pirate "mother ship." The Indian navy defended its actions, saying it had fired in self-defense.
Somali pirates have become increasingly brazen, and recently seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil. Many of the vessels are taken to pirate-controlled regions in Somalia, where they are held for ransom.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Send the pirates a message...feed them to the sharks, film the carnage and put it on youtube.
I guess the AP people haven’t heard about Google:
http://www.jimmatimes.com/article.cfm?articleID=31556
Wrap them in bacon first.
Cover them with pig fat first.
But on Friday, the commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet expressed doubt about the wisdom of launching attacks against Somali pirates on land, as the draft proposes.
U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters that it is difficult to identify pirates, and the potential for killing innocent civilians "cannot be overestimated."
WTF is up with out glorious Adm Gortney anyway?
You can't tell me we don't know EXACTLY where these ISLAMIC terrorist, pirates live
And if he's too much of a wuss to do the job, perhaps its time he submitted his retirement papers and let someone else handle this little matter.
they should have all been killed when they ‘resisted’.
ALL should be dispatched on the spot, and disposed of as one would any garbage at sea.
The civilized world has become FAR too civilized - and the barbarians are taking advantage of that fact.
They should have been shot, and pushed off the plank...since bein’ dead and all...they couldn’t have walked off the plank.
That’s 10 yards and a 1st Down. :-)
Keep it up, India!
In this photograph released by the Indian Navy, Indian Marine Commandos board a suspected pirate ship as its surrendering crew (L) hold their hands above their heads in the Gulf of Aden. The Indian navy said it has captured 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates who attacked a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday. (AFP/Indian Navy)
Somali pirates stand in the dock inside a court of law in Kenya's coastal town of Mombasa December 11, 2008. Somalia's government has welcomed a call by the United States for countries to have U.N. authority to hunt down Somali pirates on land as well as pursue them off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation. (Joseph Okanga - KENYA/Reuters)
Sounds like we know where the bastards and their families live -- why are they still alive?
Of course. You would not expect the U.N. to do anything to one or more of its criminal scumbag members, would you??
Also note — it takes a DEMOCRACY to do anything good for the world.
Of the 23 Pirates I wonder how many are decorating lamp posts?
Aren’t Pirates civilians by definition? Where does common sense (and therefore common law) preclude having weapons on merchant ships to protect themselves from common (based on frequency - Islaminst) criminals.?
Slow news day Norm?
I’ll be impressed when the headline says: ‘Indian navy captures 23 pirates, keel-hauls 22’. Not until then.
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