WORLD> America
US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-13 09:31

Phillips' 17,000-ton ship, which docked with the 19 members of his crew Saturday in Mombasa, Kenya, erupted into wild cheers. Some waved an American flag and one fired a bright red flare skyward in celebration.

US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates
Crew members celebrate on the deck of the Maersk Alabama after their captain was released, in Mombasa's port in Kenya, Sunday, April 12, 2009. [Agencies]

"We made it!" said crewman ATM Reza, pumping his fist in the air.

The ship had been carrying food aid bound for Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda when the ordeal began hundreds of miles off Somalia's eastern coast Wednesday. Crew members said they saw pirates scrambling into the ship with ropes and hooks from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below.

As the pirates shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crew members said.

Phillips was then taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was soon shadowed by three US warships and a helicopter in a standoff that grew by the day. The pirates were believed armed with pistols and AK-47 assault rifles.

Talks to free him began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the US destroyer. The pirates had threatened to kill Phillips if attacked.

A government official and others in Somalia with knowledge of the situation said negotiations broke down late Saturday. The stumbling block, Somali officials said: Americans' insistence the pirates be arrested and brought to justice.

Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat Friday and tried to swim for his freedom but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon into the water, according to US Defense Department officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the unfolding operations.

On Saturday, pirates fired a few shots at a small US Navy vessel that had approached, but the US sailors did not return fire.

The US Navy had assumed the pirates would try to get their hostage to shore, where they could have hidden him on Somalia's lawless soil and been in a stronger position to negotiate a ransom.

Somalia's government, which barely controls any territory in the country, welcomed the news of Phillips' rescue.

US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates
In this April 5, 2009 photo released by the US Navy, the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship USS Boxer receives a vertical replenishment from the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl in the Gulf of Aden. [Agencies]

"The Somali government wanted the drama to end in a peaceful way, but any one who is involved in this latest case had the choice to use violence or other means," Abdulkhadir Walayo, the prime minister's spokesman, told the AP. "We see it will be a good lesson for the pirates or any one else involved in this dirty business."

Related readings:
US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates Warships track American hostage floating to Somalia
US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates US hostage fails in escape bid from Somali pirates
US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates FBI called in for hostage standoff with pirates
US captain freed, snipers kill 3 pirates Crew retakes hijacked US ship, captain held hostage

Worried residents of Harardhere, another port and pirate stronghold, were gathering in the streets after news of the captain's release.

"We fear more that any revenge taken by the pirates against foreign nationals could bring more attacks from the foreign navies, perhaps on our villages," Abdullahi Haji Jama, who owns a clothes store in Harardhere, told the AP by telephone.

Pirates are holding about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau. Hostages are from Bulgaria, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, the Philippines, Russia, Tuvalu and Ukraine, among other countries.

The Navy said Phillips was freed at 7:19 pm local time. He was taken aboard the Norfolk, Va.-based Bainbridge and then flown to the San Diego-based USS Boxer for the medical exam, 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said.

Christensen said Phillips was now "resting comfortably." The USS Boxer was in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, Christensen said.

US officials said a fourth pirate had surrendered and was in military custody. FBI spokesman John Miller said that would change as the situation became "more of a criminal issue than a military issue."

A spokeswoman for the Phillips family, Alison McColl, said Phillips and his wife, Andrea, spoke by phone shortly after he was freed.

"I think you can all imagine their joy and what a happy moment that was for them," McColl said outside of the Phillips home in Underhill, Vt. "They're all just so happy and relieved. Andrea wanted me to tell the nation that all of your prayers and good wishes have paid off, because Capt. Phillips is safe."

Capt. Joseph Murphy, the father of second-in-command Shane Murphy, thanked Phillips for his bravery.

"Our prayers have been answered on this Easter Sunday," Murphy said. "If not for his incredible personal sacrifice, this kidnapping and act of terror could have turned out much worse."

Murphy said both his family and Phillips' "can now celebrate a joyous Easter together."

"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 statement.

He called Phillips and his crew "heroic."

Terry Aiken, 66, who lives across the street from the Phillips house, fought back tears as he reacted to the news.

"I'm very, very happy," Aiken said. "I can't be happier for him and his family."

   Previous page 1 2 Next Page