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US Navy snipers killed three Somali pirates who had been holding an American merchant skipper on a lifeboat last night, rescuing the hostage unharmed. The US Navy Seals opened fire from about 25 metres away under standing orders from President Obama when they saw one of the pirates pointing an AK47 at Captain Richard Phillips’s back, putting his life in imminent danger. All three pirates were killed. A fourth, who had come aboard a nearby US warship to negotiate, was taken into custody. He was reported to be as young as 16. Captain Phillips, a former Boston taxi driver who...

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090412/D97H5GRG0.html

Official: Captain was in 'imminent danger' Swift rescue operation left three of the Somali captors dead MOMBASA, Kenya - A U.S. military official said Navy Seals and other officers opened fire on three pirates when a Navy commander made a split-second decision that an American hostage's life was in danger. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney also said the pirates made a ransom demand for the release of Capt. Richard Phillips. Gortney said the pirates threatened throughout the ordeal to kill Phillips. Gortney says the pirates were armed with AK-47s and small-caliber pistols, and were pointing the AK-47s at the captain. Gortney...

Congratulations all around to the daring warriors who rescued Captain Richard Phillips and captured one of his captors alive. I am delighted that President Obama's team did not endlessly equivocate. I credit them with bringing the incident to a close. If they needed time to position assets and plan, I am glad they waited. Update: Reports are that Captain Phillips jumped overboard again. Fragmentary reports suggest sharpshooters may have opened fire allowing him the escape. It is still unclear if there was an actual rescue operation launched Further update: The head of Maersk just had a news conference ion Norfolk,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The American sea captain held hostage by Somali pirates was in "imminent danger" of being killed by his captors before U.S. Special Operations forces fatally shot them, a U.S. military official said. The hostage, Richard Phillips, was not hurt in the several minutes of gunfire off the Somali coast Sunday. Phillips was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.

I'll give the President some credit for this, but I still think the military should have acted sooner. Alas. All's well that ends well! My hope is that the Administration is serious about cracking down on piracy in the Indian Ocean and that Captain Philips has opened America's eyes to the dangers that many of our citizens face around the world. Fox News reports: President Obama twice authorized the military to rescue a U.S. captain held by Somali pirates and whose life appeared to be at risk. A senior administration official told FOX News that Obama granted the authority on...

DEVELOPING:Capt. Richard Phillips jumped to freedom on Easter Sunday from the lifeboat where four pirates had been holding him captive off the coast of Somalia in a five-day stand off with the U.S. Navy. Capt. Phillips, who has been described by his crew as a hero for leaving with four pirates in a lifeboat to save his ship, the Maersk Alabama, escaped by jumping overboard. Before pirates could respond, U.S. forces killed three pirates still on the lifeboat and arrested a fourth pirate.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says the captain who survived capture by Somali pirates has courage that is "a model for all Americans." Obama says he's pleased that Capt. Richard Phillips has been rescued and is on board a Navy ship. Obama says Phillips' safety was his main concern after being held hostage aboard a lifeboat. Obama says he is proud of the U.S. military and other agencies that worked to free Phillips. The president says the United States needs help from other countries to deal with the threat of piracy and to hold pirates accountable. The president praised...

Somali elders on Sunday renewed efforts to free an American held hostage for days on a lifeboat after his pirate captors fired on a US navy vessel and defied attempts to have them arrested. Even as negotiations resumed to free the American captain, pirates manoeuvred an Italian vessel and its 16-strong crew toward the Somali coastline

Less than an hour ago, Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk ALABAMA was freed from the hands of evil by the joint effort of his own courage and boldness and the swift and decided action of the American Navy Seals! Moments like this reinforce our emphasis on the need for a continued strong national defense policy. Our nation’s military program is not an area we should cut funding for but rather we should create incentives for our young men and women who want to serve and protect Americans and America while bettering their own lives. A BIG THANK YOU TO...

The American captain of a cargo ship held hostage by pirates jumped overboard from the lifeboat where he was being held, and U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed three of his four captors, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation.

MOMBASA, Kenya - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, the ship's owner said.

The captain of the Maersk Alabama was freed Sunday after being held captive since Wednesday by pirates off the coast of Somalia, a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told CNN. The official said Capt. Richard Phillips is uninjured and in good condition, and that three of the four pirates were killed. The fourth pirate is in custody. Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, a nearby naval warship. Earlier Sunday afternoon Maersk Line Limited, owner of the Maersk Alabama, said the U.S. Navy informed the company that it had sighted Phillips in a lifeboat where pirates are...

U.S. warships and helicopters stalked a lifeboat holding an American sea captain and his four Somali captors Sunday as a Somali official and others reported negotiations for his release have broken down.

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Negotiations over the American captain taken hostage by Somali pirates broke down on Saturday, according to Somali officials, after American officials insisted that the pirates be arrested and a group of elders representing the pirates refused. Somali officials said the American captain, Richard Phillips, and the four heavily armed pirates holding him hostage remained in a covered lifeboat floating in the Indian Ocean about 30 miles off Gara’ad, a notorious pirate den in northeastern Somalia. The negotiations broke down hours after the pirates fired on a small United States Navy vessel that had tried to approach the lifeboat not long...

Somali pirates obtained fuel for their hijacked lifeboat and were moving within 35 kilometres of Somalia's shore late Saturday with Phillips on board, ABC news and CNN reported.

Gunfire Erupts As Sailors Approach Lifeboat Holding Somali Bandits And Hostage; FBI Prepares For Piracy Prosecution CBS News Interactive: About Somalia NAIROBI, Kenya (CBS) ― Pirates opened fired as a small U.S. Navy team approached the enclosed lifeboat on which an American was being held hostage in waters off the coast of Somalia, CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozer reports. A Defense Department official told CBS News that the Navy team was in a rubber craft headed toward the lifeboat holding the kidnapped captain of the Maersk Alabama when Somali pirates fired at or in the general direction of the Navy...

EXCERPT The White House says the president has received updates on paper and by phone on Saturday. Administration aides met at 8 a.m. and at 2 p.m. to discuss the four-day-old situation off the east coast of Africa.

Pirates Have Gas on Lifeboat, Fire Shots at U.S. Navy Sailors The captain of a U.S.-flagged ship held hostage by armed pirates on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean appears to be alive after a daring escape attempt -- but the pirates now seem to have fuel and to be moving closer to shore, sources told ABC News. The latest evidence that Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, is alive came as the pirates holding him in a 28-foot covered lifeboat fired shots at U.S. Navy sailors who approached their vessel at an undisclosed time after the escape bid.