Mogadishu, Sept. 30 (SANA) Five crew members of the MT Honour 25 oil tanker were killed and four injured by pirates before Puntland security forces freed the hijacked vessel and captured 16 pirates, authorities said.
Reuters cited Puntland’s Information Ministry as saying Tuesday that those killed were three Pakistani nationals, one Myanmar national and one Indian national. Three Pakistanis and one Indian were injured.
The Palau-flagged tanker, carrying a crew of up to 17, was hijacked off Somalia on April 21 while sailing to Mogadishu.
The Puntland Maritime Police Force also freed the MT Eureka, hijacked in May, after the pirates fled toward shore as security forces approached.
The two operations brought to five the number of vessels freed out of six that pirates had been holding off the Somali coast as of late August.
Piracy off Somalia peaked in 2011 before international naval patrols and stronger security measures helped sharply reduce attacks.
T.S /M.F
