Somali Chief Threatens Americans as Revenge For Pirate Killings

Take the pirate chief with a grain of salt, after all, he is a pirate. His claims they were going to let the captain go are well and good and ignore the fact that they were al ready criminals for the attack in the first place.

A Somali pirate chief has vowed to target Americans in revenge for the death of three pirates killed during a US raid to free an American hostage held by the pirates. Abdi Garad said on Monday that the US forces had shot and killed the men, even after they had agreed to free the hostage. "The American liars have killed our friends after they agreed to free the hostage without ransom," Garad was reported by the AFP news agency as saying.

"But I tell you that this matter will lead to retaliation and we will hunt down particularly American citizens travelling our waters."

The news agency reported that Garad was speaking by phone from Eyl, a pirate base on Somalia's eastern coast.

As for the Somali Government, no doubt any defeat handed to the gangs who run their country is a welcome development:

Abdulkadir Walayo, a Somali government spokesman, hailed the operation.

"I hope this operation will be a lesson for other pirates holding the hostages on the ships they hijacked," he said.The raid occurred only two days after French commandos stormed a yacht to rescue two French couples and a child being held by Somali pirates in a separate incident.

Hijackings are an ongoing problem in the busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia.

At least a dozen ships have been seized in the Indian Ocean and more than 200 crew members are being held hostage.

Somalia has been torn by strife for decades now, for a time "Islamic courts" ran the country. These courts were essentially gangs that legitimized their force in the name of imposing sharia. Too bad for them they ended up fighting the Ethiopian army which wiped out many of their fighters. Once again the country is in a state of flux with a UN backed government that has very little implementation power and a whole lot of gangs, none of which are stronf enough to take the country for themselves. In a related development the captured pirate will be brought to the United States to stand trial:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department was considering whether to prosecute a Somali pirate in Washington or New York, U.S. officials said following therescue of a U.S. hostage and the apprehension of his only surviving captor.

The decision will determine where the pirate will be flown in what is shaping up as the first U.S. piracy case in recent memory.

Three pirates were killed Sunday in a military operation that rescued Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been held hostage aboard a lifeboat for days. A fourth pirate was in discussions with naval authorities about Phillips' fate when the rescue took place.

Both piracy and hostage-taking carry life sentences under U.S. law.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said the Justice Department is considering whether to leave the case in the hands of federal prosecutors in Washington or New York.

''He's in military custody right now,'' FBI spokesman John Miller said. ''That will change as this becomes more of a criminal issue than a military issue.''

As for the Captain Phillips, he is safe and sound:

(CNN) -- For four days, an American sea captain and four Somali pirates rode the waves of the Indian Ocean in an enclosed lifeboat, far out of sight of most of the world.

But for those four days, they were on the minds of people around the globe, from the captain's hometown in Vermont, to the White House, to port cities and anywhere that families send their loved ones off to sea.

"I actually was more concerned for his family," said Adm. Rick Gurnon, head of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where Capt. Richard Phillips had trained.

"I was pretty sure he would be OK," Gurnon said of Phillips, adding, "as a captain at sea, in a lifeboat, he was in an environment he was comfortable with even if he was sharing it with four armed Somali pirates.

"I was more worried for his family. They've been going through hell since Wednesday. This is truly a joyous day for them." Watch Gurnon praise Phillips' courage, professionalism »

It was three shots and three kills:

(CNN) -- In the end, it was a single moment that brought the hostage crisis to its dramatic finish. Three gunshots. All three fatal. Fired in the dark by three specially trained U.S. Navy SEALs as the pirates' boat rocked in the water off Somalia.

"Phenomenal shots -- 75 feet away," said Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, who oversees the region.

A senior defense official told CNN that each was a shot to the head.

Gortney, in an interview Monday with CNN's "American Morning," described critical steps that led to the rescue of U.S. Capt. Richard Phillips, who was taken by pirates after they boarded his merchant ship, the Maersk Alabama, east of Somalia on Wednesday.