U.S. Navy SEALs Free Two Hostages, Killing NINE Somalia Kidnappers in Process

U.S. Navy file photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Anthony Harding

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* USA Today had the following AP report posted up on their website early this Wednesday morning and it starts off like this… U.S. Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia under cover of darkness early Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where an American woman and Danish man were being held hostage. Soon, nine kidnappers were dead and both hostages were freed… President Obama himself authorized the mission two days earlier, and minutes after he gave his State of the Union address to Congress he was on the phone with the American's father to tell him his daughter was safe…

Read the full report at link below…

U.S. military raid in Somalia frees American, Dane

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This news video posted on the web by AP

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SECDEF Releases Statement on Hostage Rescue Operation in Somalia

Release Date: Wednesday morning - 1/25/2012 -- From the Department of Defense

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  WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta released the following statement Jan. 25 regarding the hostage rescue operation in Somalia:

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  Last night U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted, by order of the President of the United States, a successful mission in Somalia to rescue two individuals taken hostage on October 25, 2011. Ms. Jessica Buchanan, an American citizen employed by the Danish Demining Group, and her Danish colleague, Mr. Poul Thisted, were kidnapped at gunpoint by criminal suspects near Galcayo, Somalia.

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  Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home.

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  This successful hostage rescue, undertaken in a hostile environment, is a testament to the superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others. I applaud their efforts, and I am pleased that Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted were not harmed during the operation. This mission demonstrates our military's commitment to the safety of our fellow citizens wherever they may be around the world.

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  I am grateful to report that there was no loss of life or injuries to our personnel.

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  I express my deepest gratitude to all the military and civilian men and women who supported this operation. This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are heroes and continue to inspire all of us by their bravery and service to our nation.

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I do not say this often but on this one… GOOD JOB Mr. President!

I could not be prouder of all those involved but mostly of those brave men that carried out this mission so successfully. You guys are just, AWESOME!

You Make Our Nation Proud!

AubreyJ………

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Somalia: On Ground Updates - November 16, 2009

Somalia: On Ground Updates
Monday, November 16, 2009
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* VOANews.com brings us the following report and it starts off like this... A rebel group in Ethiopia's restive Ogaden region says it has killed 626 government troops in heavy fighting near the border with neighboring Somalia. The government has dismissed the claim as 'a complete fabrication'... A communiqué sent to news agencies by e-mail says a multi-front offensive launched by the Ogaden National Liberation Front November 10th is still in progress. The communiqué, believed to be sent from ONLF offices in Europe, says 626 Ethiopian troops have died, and the statement says the battlefields are littered with bodies of soldiers... It describes ONLF casualties as 'minimal', but gives no details...
Read the full report at link below...
Ogaden Rebels say 626 Ethiopian Troops Killed in Clashes
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* BBC.co.uk has this take on the news out of the Somali area today and it starts like this... Ethnic-Somali rebels in the south-east of Ethiopia say they have launched an offensive against government forces and captured several towns... The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it began attacking on several fronts on Tuesday... The separatists said a "significant number" of Ethiopian troops had been killed and their equipment captured... The reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains...
Read the full report at link below...
Ethiopia rebels 'capture towns'
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* AFRIC.com reports it this way... Ethiopia’s Somali-speaking communities, allegedly marginalized by Ethiopian government in Addis Ababa have begun another bout of rebellion against the government. So far seven towns have been captured as the rebels demand secession. Some Ethiopians have, however, dismissed claims made by the rebels, as having captured several towns, as preposterous propaganda. Some also insist that having been sealed off to the media, there is very little accurate information about events in the region... According to local reports, the operation involved thousands of troops of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), and resulted in two days of heavy fighting. The reports also claimed that a significant number of Ethiopian troops had been killed and their gadgets captured, and the rebel forces had been warmly welcomed in captured towns... The ONLF has launched several attacks since Tuesday last week...
Read the rest at link below...
Ethiopia-Ogaden: Somali ethnicity wages war for secession amid murky claims

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ONLF TRAININ CAMP IN OGADEN
(Part One)



This video posted on YouTube by EEGAA
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AubreyJ.........

Somalia: On Ground Updates - September 16, 2009

Somalia: On Ground Updates
Senior Commander Of Radical Islamist Group al-Shabab Issues Public Call For Foreign Fighters To Join Them In Somalia Fight
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
. Map by CIA
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* VOANews.com brings us the following round of news out of Somalia this Wednesday afternoon and it starts off like this... A Senior Commander of radical Islamist militant group al-Shabab in Somalia has issued a public call for foreign fighters from around the world to come to Somalia and join its fight against the Western-backed Mogadishu government... The leader of al-Shabab forces in the Bay and Bakol regions, Sheikh Mahad Abdikarim, is asking for foreign Islamic militants to join al-Shabab in Somalia... He says that all Muslim religious warriors should come and participate in their war...
Read the full report at link below...
Al-Shabab Asks Foreign Fighters to Come to Somalia
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* REUTERS has the following take on today’s Somalia news and it starts off like this... Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents called on Wednesday for more foreign militants to join them in the failed Horn of Africa state after U.S. forces killed one of the region's most wanted al Qaeda suspects... The U.S. commando operation that killed Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, 28, in remote southern Somalia on Monday has triggered an angry response from Islamist rebels fighting the nation's U.N.-backed government... The raid likely gained Washington valuable counter-terrorism intelligence, but it risked further inflaming anti-Western opinion in a country of growing concern to the West...
Read the rest at link below...
Somali rebels call for foreign reinforcements

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Read more, from my Tuesday’s post, at link below...
Somalia Strike Kills Top Al Qaeda Suspect Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan
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POST UPDATE:
Thursday, September 17, 2009
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At Least Nine Peacekeepers Killed In Attack UN File Photo - AMISOM Peacekeepers in Somalia
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Nine Peacekeepers Killed In Suicide Bombers Attack, Including General Juvenile Niyoyunguriza, AMISOM’s Deputy Force Commander - 30 Others Wounded, Including Force Commander, General Nathan Mugisha
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* CBC.ca brings us the following report this Thursday afternoon and it starts off like this... At least nine peacekeepers are dead after suicide bombers attacked their base in Somalia, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said... Earlier reports from a witness indicated that 11 people were killed in the explosion at the African Union peacekeepers' base in Mogadishu, but the secretary general only confirmed nine deaths at a news conference Thursday in New York...
Read the full report HERE
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* UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplores killing of nine African Union peacekeepers in Somalia
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Suicide bombers kill 11 people in Somalia

About this News Video: Suicide Bombers struck in the troubled Somali Capital of Mogadishu killing at least 11 people including African Union peace keeping troops. The terror group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
This news video posted on YouTube by NTVKenya
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AubreyJ..........

Somalia Strike Kills Top Al Qaeda Suspect Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan

President Obama’s First Somalia Strike Kills Top Al Qaeda Suspect Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan
Post date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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FBI retouched file photo
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* BBC News brings us the following good news this Tuesday morning and their report starts off like this... US forces are "likely" to have killed a top al-Qaeda suspect during a military raid in Somalia, US officials say... They flew helicopters into Somalia and attacked a car they say was carrying Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan... US agents have been hunting Nabhan for years over attacks on a hotel and an Israeli airliner in Kenya in 2002... It is believed he fled to Somalia after the attacks and was working with the al-Shabab group, which the Americans see as al-Qaeda's proxy in Somalia...
Read the full report at link below...
Al-Qaeda Somalia suspect 'killed'
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* CSMonitor.com reports it this way... US commandos killed Kenyan national Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in a helicopter raid against Mr. Nabhan's convoy, as it traveled through the Barawe district in southern Somalia...
Read the rest at link below...
Obama's first Somalia strike hits Al Qaeda suspect
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* Telegraph.co.uk has this report and it starts off like this... Six helicopters were involved in the attack in which Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed and his body was recovered and taken away... The operation had echoes of the notorious "Black Hawk Down" mission in 1993 in which two helicopters were shot down by Somali gunmen during the Battle for Mogadishu... It is thought to have been the first time American boots have been on Somali soil since the debacle...
Read this report in full at link below...
Al-Qaeda man killed in 'Black Hawk Down' raid

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US Forces Kill Leading Al Qaeda Suspect

About this video: US forces say they've killed one of the FBI's most wanted men, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who had suspected links to Al Qaeda.
This news video posted on YouTube by itnnews
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AubreyJ.........

News Video: U.S. Government puts Ethiopia on Notice

U.S. Government puts Ethiopia on Notice

About this video: Eritrea has been put on notice by the U.S. Government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met the President of Somalias Transitional Federal Government Sheikh Shariff Ahmed and announced that the U.S will take unspecified action against Eritrea for supporting the activities of the Al- Shabab terror group.
This news video posted on YouTube by NTVKenya
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Did Hillary get a Face Lift!!!?
AubreyJ………

Somalia/Pirates: On Ground Updates - May 05, 2009

Somalia/Pirates: On Ground Updates
Snapshot into the Somalia piracy reporting by the MSM
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
.About photo: A pirate ship, [this is what one would call the ‘MOTHER SHIP’,] 23 miles south of Aden port in Yemen, is being watched from a South Korean helicopter on Monday, May 4, 2009
Photo by the South Korean's Joint Chiefs of Staff
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* The Chosun llbo website brings us this report today and it starts of like this… South Korean naval forces have rescued a North Korean vessel from pirates off the coast of Somalia… The South Korean military says a destroyer in the Gulf of Aden dispatched a helicopter after the North Korean ship radioed for help early Monday. Officials say pirates who were approaching the North Korean ship retreated when the helicopter crew threatened to open fire. The military says the North Korean ship later radioed a "thank you" message…
Read the rest at link below…
S. Korea Rescues N. Korean Ship Near Somalia
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* The Southeast Missourian website reports it this way… South Korean snipers hovering in a helicopter Monday chased away pirates pursuing a North Korean freighter, a rare instance of cooperation between the two Koreas… The South Korean ship has been operating off Somalia since last month on a mission to protect its cargo ships from Somali pirates, whose acts of high-seas crime have exploded in recent years as the bandits continue to get ransoms in the millions of dollars… South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the 4,500-ton-class warship sent a Lynx helicopter to assist the North Korean vessel shortly after receiving a distress call that it was being chased by the pirate ship… The pirate vessel gave up chasing the North Korean vessel and sped away after snipers aboard the helicopter prepared to fire warning shots, the statement said… The incident took place 23 miles (37 kilometers) south of the Yemeni port of Aden, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Somalia and Yemen are separated by the Gulf of Aden...
Read this report in full at link below…
South Korean warship saves North's vessel
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* VOANews.com has this report… Somalia's shaky new government is accusing neighboring Eritrea of arming insurgent groups in Somalia. The allegation is a repeat of events two years ago, when the United Nations accused Eritrea of secretly sending weapons to Somalia's militant al-Shabab group… Somali Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden says planes loaded with weapons from Eritrea arrived last week in Somalia…
Read the full report at link below…
Somalia Accuses Eritrea of Illegal Arms Shipments
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* The Washington Post had this report on their website Sunday, May 03, 20009… Now before we get to their report, I just got to say this… Here’s a report that I loved reading! Don’t you KNOW those pirates pooped their pants when they finally figured out they were about to attack a FRENCH NAVAL SHIP instead of a poor old helpless commercial ship. The expressions on all those pirate faces would have been Priceless! Hats off to the French Navy for a job well done.
With that said… read the report at link below…
France captures 11 suspected Somali pirates
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* SKY News has the following article with LOTS of dramatic Images/Video of heavily armed Somali pirates being captured by the French navy. Great stuff!!!
Click it out at link below…
Pirate Video: Sea Bandits Captured On Film
Lots of photos too

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Russian Warship Frees Iranians.

About this News Video: The Iranian embassy in Moscow has said that a Russian warship has freed eight Iranian citizens who had been seized last week along with Somali pirates.
Video posted on You Tube by RussiaToday
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AubreyJ………

Another U.S.-Flagged Cargo Ship Attacked/Fired On By Somalia Pirates

Another U.S.-Flagged Cargo Ship Attacked/Fired On By Somalia Pirates

Tuesday, April, 14, 2009
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U.S Navy file photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Vincent J. Street
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Reuters brings us this report late this Tuesday evening and it starts off like this…
Pirates attacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia with rockets and automatic weapons, but failed to board the craft, the ship's owner said on Tuesday… The crew of the Liberty Sun was unharmed, but the vessel suffered damage, according to a statement from Liberty Maritime Corp of Lake Success, New York… The ship immediately requested help from the U.S. Navy and was now under escort, the statement said… "We are grateful and pleased that no one was injured and the crew and the ship are safe," it said…
Read the full report at link below…
Pirates attack U.S.-flagged ship
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FOXNews.com has this take on the report this evening and it goes in part like this…
…On Tuesday, the Liberty Sun, with a crew of about 20 U.S. citizens, reported to the U.S. Coast Guard that they were being attacked by pirates. The Navy dispatched the USS Bainbridge, the same warship that came to the rescue of the Maersk Alabama last week… But by the time the warship arrived several hours later at the scene of the attack on the Liberty Sun, the pirates were gone… The pirates had fired rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the ship, Liberty Maritime Corporation of Lake Success, N.Y., said in a written statement. The vessel sustained damage in the attack…
Read the full report at link below…
Pirates Attack U.S.-Flagged Ship Off Somali Coast in Unsuccessful New Hijacking Attempt
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Also in the news today:
Somali Pirates Hijack 4 Ships, Take 60 Hostages

About this News Video: Undeterred Somali pirates went on a hijacking spree, brazenly capturing four more ships and taking over 60 crew members hostage in the Gulf of Aden, the waterway at the center of the world's fight against piracy.
This News Video posted on YouTube by AssociatedPress
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AubreyJ………

President Obama Determined To Halt Piracy

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Post Update THREE: Somali Pirates/US Captain Hostage Situation

Post Update THREE:
3 Somali Pirates Dead, One Pirate Wounded/Captured
Once Hostage Captain Phillips
Safe and on Navy Ship
What a Great Easter Day for All Americans!!!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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File Photo of the Maersk Alabama Container Ship
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* FOXNews.com brings us this GREAT report this early Sunday afternoon…
Ship Captain Rescued From Somali Pirates
American sea Captain Richard Phillips was safely rescued Sunday from four Somali pirates, who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a U.S. intelligence official said… Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said…Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation…
Read the full report from HERE

About above photo: Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips, right, stands alongside Cmdr. Frank Castellano, Commanding officer of USSS Bainbridge (DDG 96) after being rescued by Navel Forces off the coast of Somalia. Phillips was held hostage for four days by pirates.
US Navy Photo

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Obama Praises U.S. Military Rescue of Maersk-Alabama Captain
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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President Barack Obama praised the U.S. military’s rescue of the kidnapped captain of the Maersk-Alabama cargo ship on the waters off the coast of Somalia today.
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U.S. naval forces freed Capt. Richard Phillips five days after Somali pirates took him hostage.
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“I am very pleased that Captain Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer,” Obama said in a White House statement. “His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew.
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“I am also very proud of the efforts of the US military and many other departments and agencies who worked tirelessly to secure Captain Phillips’ safe recovery,” he said. “I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew. His courage is a model for all Americans.”
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Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, commended those involved in the rescue.
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“This was an incredible team effort, and I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of all the men and women who made this rescue possible,” Gortney said in a U.S. Navy release. Gortney said Phillips’ actions, and those of the Maersk-Alabama crew, were heroic.
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“They fought back to regain control of their ship, and Captain Phillips selflessly put his life in the hands of these armed criminals in order to protect his crew,” he said.
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Following the rescue, Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge before being flown to the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, where he contacted his family, received a routine medical evaluation, and is resting comfortably, according to a U.S. Navy statement.
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Three pirates were killed during the rescue operation, and U.S. military forces have one pirate in custody, the statement said.

From a DoD’s American Forces Press Service News Article that was written by John J. Kruzel

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Here’s a report by Fox News that sheds a little better light on just how this hostage standoff finally ended…
Navy Seals Kill Pirates, Rescue American Hostage
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The Washington Post reports it this way… The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean. The SEALs were part of a larger group of Special Operations Forces involved in the effort, according to military officials…
Read the full report at link below…
How SEALs Carried Out Their Mission
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Embedded video from CNN Video

Read more at CNN.com
Pirates vow to kill U.S., French sailors

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.This Post now Closed –
Check top of this Blog for latest updated Posts.

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American HEROS All!
All 20 of those brave American crew members, their Captain… and all those who helped bring this capture to a safe end for the Captain and Crew… are Heroes in my book!
God bless them all…
And again…
Don’t Mess with Americans - Ever!!!
AubreyJ………

Post Update Two: Somali Pirates/US Captain Hostage Situation

Post Update Two:
Somali Pirates/US Captain Hostage Situation
Pirates Continue to Hold Captain Phillips Hostage - Demand $2 Million Ransom
Saturday, April 11, 2009
File Photo of the Maersk Alabama Container Ship
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* FOXNews.com gets us up-to-date with the following report this early Saturday morning. It starts off like this… The intensifying scene of a pirate standoff with the U.S. Navy is a bleak case study in the lawless dynamics of the piracy problem off the coast of Somalia… The captain of a U.S.-flagged ship hijacked this week by a band of pirates attempted to escape Friday but didn't make it far, as the pirates fired gunshots and recaptured him. They then proceeded to demand a $2 million ransom, according to a Somali negotiator… The Navy has sent the USS Bainbridge to the scene, and the pirates reportedly have called in reinforcements as well, seeking help from other bands of pirates on hijacked ships in the region… The Navy is also moving a huge amphibious ship closer to the scene of the pirate hostage standoff off Somalia… Defense officials say the USS Boxer will be nearby soon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive ship movements… The Boxer is the flag ship for a multination anti-piracy task force. The Boxer resembles a small aircraft carrier. It has a crew of more than 1,000, a mobile hospital, missile launchers and about two dozen helicopters and attack planes…
Read the full, lengthy report at link below…
Tense Standoff Between U.S., Pirates Mirrors Lawless Trend Off Somali Coast
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Behind the Headlines

About this FOX News Video: A Freelance Journalist provides a closer look at the Somalia Piracy issue
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* Reuters.com has this report posted on their website early this Saturday morning… Pirates on a German ship with 24 foreign hostages said on Saturday they had returned to the Somali coast after failing to locate the scene of a standoff involving an American captive on a drifting lifeboat… The pirates had hoped to use the hijacked 20,000-tonne container vessel, Hansa Stavanger, as a "shield" to reach fellow pirates holding American ship captain Richard Phillips far out in the Indian Ocean. U.S. naval ships are close to the lifeboat… "We have come back to Haradheere coast. We could not locate the lifeboat," one pirate on the German ship, who identified himself as Suleiman, told Reuters. "We almost got lost because we could not find the bearing of the lifeboat."…
Read the rest at link below…
Somali pirates in German ship fail to find comrades
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* AP has this report this morning… U.S. warships are trying to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain is being held hostage as the high-seas standoff off Africa's eastern coast entered a fourth day Saturday…
Read the rest at link below…
US ships block help for pirates holding US captain
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* BBC.co.uk reports… Somali pirates holding US Captain Richard Phillips hostage have warned that the use of force to rescue him could result in "disaster"… The pirates said they hoped to transfer him to a bigger vessel, as US and other naval ships made their way to the area…
Read this report in full at link below…
Pirates caution against US rescue
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* AFP reports it this way this morning… Somali pirates holding a US captain hostage warned Saturday that using force to free him would end in "disaster" as they prepared to move him following a deadly French raid on a separate boat…
Read the full report at link below…
Somali pirates issue warning over US hostage
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* BBC News put this report up just after 11:00am this morning…
Somali pirates have hijacked a US-owned tugboat in the Gulf of Aden with 16 crew members on board - 10 of them Italians, reports say… Maritime industry sources say the tug was towing two barges at the time of the attack at 0800 GMT… The crew are said to be unharmed. The US and Italian governments have not confirmed the hijacking… Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in "disaster"…
Read the rest at link below…
Pirates hijack second US vessel
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* AP had this take on this latest news…
Somali pirates hijacked an Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew Saturday, a NATO spokeswoman said, as U.S. warships closely watched a lifeboat where an American captain was being held hostage for a fourth day.
The tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast as it was pulling barges, said Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center… The Foreign Ministry in Rome confirmed 10 of the 16 crew members are Italian. The crew members also include five Romanians and one Croatian, according to Micoperi, the Italian maritime services company that owns the ship…
Read the full report at link below…
Pirates seize Italians on tug as US ships converge
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Pirates Defy U.S. Navy. More Pirate Ships Reinforcements On The Move

This CNN News Video posted on YouTube by MiddleEastNews
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* ABC News brings us this BREAKING NEWS:
* 12:34 CDT *
Safe Harbor: Hijacked U.S. Cargo Ship Arrives at Kenya Port
Cheering and guarded by Navy Seals, the crew of an American ship reached a Kenyan port Saturday evening without their captain, still held hostage by Somali pirates in a lifeboat hundreds of miles from shore… Even as the Maersk Alabama pulled into port, the crew of an Italian-flagged tugboat was being held by pirates who seized it in a new attack… When asked by a journalist how it felt to arrive in Kenya, a member of the 19 remaining crew who did not give his name said it was "terrifying and exciting at the same time." Asked about his captain, he said: "He's a hero."… "He saved our lives," another crew member said…
Read this report in full at link below…
US Ship Reaches Kenya Minus Kidnapped Captain
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Formerly Hijacked U.S. Cargo Ship Arrives in Kenya

This CNN News Video posted on YouTube by NewsPoliticsNews
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This Post now Closed –

Check top of this Blog for latest updated Posts.

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An American HERO in the making
In fact… all 20 of those brave American crew members are Heroes in my book!
God bless them all…
And again…
Don’t Mess with Americans - Ever!!!
AubreyJ………

Somalia: August 18 Djibouti Agreement

Press Statement
Robert Wood, Acting Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 21, 2008

Somalia: August 18 Djibouti Agreement

The United States welcomes the implementation phase of a process begun by the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia to promote peace and stability in Somalia. The August 18 signing of the Djibouti Agreement by representatives of these two groups officially starts this crucial phase. We thank the government of Djibouti for hosting these important talks, and the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for his leadership in facilitating them. The United States was represented at a senior level at the talks to demonstrate support for the process. The United States reaffirms its support for rapid deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia, and calls on all Somalis who seek peace and stability to support implementation of the Djibouti Agreement.

2008/659
Released on August 21, 200

Taken from DoS press release - Map courtesy of CENTCOM

Somalia: On Ground Updates - Top Somalia Al Qaeda Leader Killed

Somalia:

Top Somalia Al Qaeda Leader Aden Hashi Ayro,

10 Others Killed in U.S. Airstrike
Thursday, May 01, 2008

FoxNews.com brings us this bit of good news... The American military launched an airstrike Thursday targeting the head of Al Qaeda in Somalia, a U.S. defense official said. The head of an Islamic insurgent group said the attack killed its leader... Islamist leader Aden Hashi Ayro, believed to be the head of Al Qaeda in Somalia, was killed when the airstrike struck his house in the central Somali town of Dusamareeb, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu, said Sheik Muqtar Robow, a spokesman for the Islamic al-Shabab militia... Another commander and seven others were also killed, Robow said. Six more people were wounded, two of whom later died...
Read the full report HERE

U.S. Attacks Al Qaeda Terrorist Targets in Somalia

U.S. Attacks Al Qaeda Terrorist Targets

in Somalia
Monday, March 03, 2008

Defense Department officials today confirmed an attack against an al Qaeda terrorist in Somalia yesterday.

“On March 2, the United States conducted an attack against a known al Qaeda terrorist in southern Somalia,” Bryan Whitman, Pentagon spokesman, said.

“As we have repeatedly said, we will continue to pursue terrorist activities and their operations wherever we may find them,” he said.

Whitman said the United States works closely with partners in the region in the conduct of military operations.

“We share common goals with respect to fighting terrorism,” he said. “We will continue to seek out, identify, capture and, if necessary, kill terrorists where they plan their activities, carry out their operations or seek safe harbor.”

Whitman said these are not the first U.S. military operations in Somalia. No other details were made available.

From a news release by DoD’s American Forces Press Service and was written by Fred W. Baker III
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IHT.com has this take on the strike and it starts off like this... U.S. naval forces fired missiles into southern Somalia on Monday, aiming at what the Defense Department called terrorist targets... Residents and the police in the southern town of Dobley said a home had been destroyed and at least eight people, including four children, seriously injured. The U.S. has carried out strikes in Somalia in the past year amid fears that the country could become a haven for terrorists... "As we have repeatedly said, we will continue to pursue terrorist activities and their operations wherever we may find them," a U.S. military spokesman, Bryan Whitman, said in Washington...
Read this report in full at link below...
U.S. directs airstrike at terrorist targets in southern Somalia