By Will the regime in Pyongyang issue a public thank you? From AP-
NAIROBI, Kenya – South Korean snipers hovering in a helicopter Monday chased away pirates pursuing a North Korean freighter, while a Russian warship freed eight Iranian citizens held hostage for more than three months.
The two dramatic rescues in the Gulf of Aden come as piracy grips the lawless coast off Somalia.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the 4,500-ton-class warship sent a Lynx helicopter to assist the North Korean vessel shortly after receiving a distress call that it was being chased by the pirate ship.
The pirate vessel gave up chasing the North Korean vessel and sped away after snipers aboard the helicopter prepared to fire warning shots, the statement said.
The incident took place 23 miles (37 kilometers) south of the Yemeni port of Aden, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Somalia and Yemen are separated by the Gulf of Aden.
Terrorists and pirates both look for soft targets. They’re basically cowards.
7:50 pm on May 4th, 2009 1
While the Somalis have found piracy to be a very lucrative business, the rest of the world has not yet stepped up to the plate. Yes they have more ships on site and they often say “shoo, go away”, but the problem will not go away until until it seriously hurts those who are in the business of hijacking ships for ransom.
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