Skip to main content

US captain held by pirates is free

MOGADISHU: A US captain seized by Somali pirates and held hostage in the Indian Ocean for five days was freed Sunday, the US state department said.

"I can confirm that Captain (Richard) Phillips has been safely recovered," said spokeswoman Laura Tischler, without providing additional details on the operation.

A US television, citing a senior US official, reported that three of the four pirates holding Phillips had been killed, and the fourth pirate was in custody.

Phillips, who was unharmed, had been taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, one of the two US naval warships involved in the tense stand-off near the Somali coast, according to the network.

The breakthrough came shortly after four freed hostages, including the widow and three-year-old son of a French sailor killed in a special forces shootout with Somali pirates, landed back in Paris.

Phillips had been held aboard a lifeboat since Wednesday when his ship's unarmed crew managed to regain control of their Danish-operated container ship from the Somali pirates, the Maersk Alabama.

The fleeing pirates bundled Phillips into the lifeboat as they escaped. They had demanded a ransom and said Saturday they planned to move Phillips to another ship held by their "friends."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.
Post a Comment
Read more

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.
Post a Comment
Read more