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US 'in talks' with Somali pirates New Somali bid to free US captain
(30 minutes later)
Negotiations are under way in a bid to free an American captain abducted from his ship and being held in a lifeboat off Somalia, the Pentagon says. Somali elders have launched a fresh attempt to resolve the standoff between the US navy and pirates holding an American captain hostage in a lifeboat.
Pentagon spokesman Maj Stewart Upton declined to give details about any aspect of the negotiations, including who is leading them. Somali sources say a group of elders have taken to sea to arrange safe passage for the hostage takers.
But a New York Times report suggests the talks broke down on Saturday. The pirates have warned the US navy, which has a warship within sight of the lifeboat, against trying to rescue Capt Richard Phillips by force.
The captain is being held on a lifeboat said to be drifting about 30-45km (20 and 30 miles) off the Somali coast. His container ship has arrived with the rest of its crew in Mombasa in Kenya
A pirate commander has warned the US navy, which has a warship within sight of the lifeboat, against attempting to rescue Captain Richard Phillips by force. Crew members hailed his bravery, saying he offered himself as a hostage in order to save them when the Maersk Alabama was attacked on Wednesday.
His ship, the Maersk Alabama, docked safely in Mombasa, Kenya, late on Saturday. The captain is now being held on a lifeboat said to be drifting about 30-45km (20 and 30 miles) off the Somali coast.
Pirates hijacked a tugboat in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday. The Buccaneer has 16 crew members on board, 10 of them Italians. Shots fired
Reporting from Mombasa, the BBC's Karen Allen says that the US has deployed its top military warships to try to end the stand-off over Capt Philips. A US military official said that on Saturday the four pirates guarding him fired shots at a small navy vessel which had approached, possibly to conduct reconnaissance.
Four Somali pirates in a lifeboat have seized the attention of the world's biggest superpower in one of the most audacious attacks of its kind, she notes. No-one was hurt and the navy vessel turned away without returning fire, an unnamed US official told the Associated Press news agency.
Pirate warning
A US military official said that early on Saturday the four pirates in the lifeboat, who are believed to be armed with pistols and AK-47 assault rifles, fired a few shots at a small navy vessel which had approached, possibly to conduct reconnaissance.
MAJOR PIRATE INCIDENTS Ukrainian ship MV Faina seized on 25 September 2008, held until 5 February 2009Saudi tanker Sirius Star held for two months from November 2008; a $3m ransom was negotiatedAt least 15 pirate attacks reported to International Maritime Bureau during March 2009The 32,500-tonne Malaspina Castle, UK-owned but operated by Italians, seized on 6 April 2009. Growing sophistication of pirates Q&A: Somali piracy Profile: Capt Richard Phillips MAJOR PIRATE INCIDENTS Ukrainian ship MV Faina seized on 25 September 2008, held until 5 February 2009Saudi tanker Sirius Star held for two months from November 2008; a $3m ransom was negotiatedAt least 15 pirate attacks reported to International Maritime Bureau during March 2009The 32,500-tonne Malaspina Castle, UK-owned but operated by Italians, seized on 6 April 2009. Growing sophistication of pirates Q&A: Somali piracy Profile: Capt Richard Phillips
No-one was hurt and the navy vessel turned away, the official said, speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. In the latest attempt to negotiate an end to the stand-off, elders said to be related to the pirates set sail from the northern Somali town of Eyl.
No fire was returned, the official added, and he denied that the navy craft had been attempting a rescue attempt. The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Mombasa says the main stumbling block is the pirates' demand to be allowed to return to land before returning the hostage.
Maj Upton later confirmed that talks were still under way. Earlier talks failed when US officials insisted on the pirates' arrest, the New York Times newspaper says, quoting unnamed Somali officials.
Talks failed when US officials insisted on the pirates' arrest, The New York Times says, quoting unnamed Somali officials. Abdi Garad, a Somali pirate commander, told AFP news agency on Saturday that there was concern the Americans were "planning rescue tricks like the French commandos did".
"American officials insisted that the pirates be arrested and a group of elders representing the pirates refused," it adds. French commandos stormed a yacht on Friday to free hostages, but one captive was killed during the operation.
Abdi Garad, a Somali pirate commander, told AFP news agency by telephone from the northern Somali town of Eyl said there was concern that the Americans were "planning rescue tricks like the French commandos did". Also on Saturday, pirates hijacked a tugboat in the Gulf of Aden. The Buccaneer has 16 crew members on board, 10 of them Italians.
French commandos stormed a yacht on Friday to free hostages but one captive was killed during the operation.
The pirate commander said Captain Phillips might be transferred to another boat shortly.
Members of his crew have hailed his bravery, saying he offered himself as a hostage in order to save them when the Maersk Alabama was attacked on Wednesday.
Capt Phillips tried to escape on Friday by jumping overboard and swimming towards a nearby US ship but was recaptured.
'Pirate machine'
The Buccaneer was towing two barges at the time of the attack at 0800 GMT on Saturday.
The crew, which also includes five Romanians and a Croat, are said to have been unharmed.The crew, which also includes five Romanians and a Croat, are said to have been unharmed.
Another vessel, sailing under the Turkish flag, escaped when its crew used water hoses to repel the pirates who had fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the captain's cabin.Another vessel, sailing under the Turkish flag, escaped when its crew used water hoses to repel the pirates who had fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the captain's cabin.
A piracy expert said the hijackings did not appear to be related to the attack on the Alabama Maersk.A piracy expert said the hijackings did not appear to be related to the attack on the Alabama Maersk.
"This is just the Somali pirate machine in full flow," Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, founder of Dryad Maritime Intelligence Ltd, told AP."This is just the Somali pirate machine in full flow," Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, founder of Dryad Maritime Intelligence Ltd, told AP.