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Africa Horn
Navy Exchanges Fire With Suspected Pirates
2006-03-18
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Two U.S. Navy ships exchanged gunfire with suspected pirates Saturday off the coast of Somalia, and one suspect was killed and five others were wounded, the navy said. The early morning gunbattle ensued after sailors spotted 30-foot fishing boat towing smaller skiffs and prepared for a routine boarding, said Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.
"Heave to and prepare to be boarded!"
Passengers on the fishing boat then began shooting,
"Yar, open fire mates!" Bang! Bang! Bang!
and U.S. naval gunners returned fire with mounted machine guns.
"Give em a broadside!" BUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPP!!!!!!
Three suspects were seriously wounded and being treated on one of the Navy ships, Brown said. Their nationalities were unknown.
Posted by:Steve

#27  #23 yer a good man, (Lt. Cmdr.) Charlie Brown

"You're the kind of reminder we need.
You have humility, nobility and a sense of honor that are very rare indeed! ..."

Still have that musical on an LP somewhere here.
Posted by lotp 2006-03-18 18:05

Is Snoopy his second-in-command?
Posted by: Happy 88mm   2006-03-18 21:17  

#26  I stand corrected on Islamists first naval defeat since Lepanto. Come to think of it, does our Navy pilots' bagging a couple of Libyan jets back around the mid-80s count?

Allan Aukbar!
Posted by: Happy 88mm   2006-03-18 21:16  

#25  There was also the Russian annihilation of the Turkish fleet in 1853(?). First use of shell guns.

India defeated the Pak navy (and army and air force) in 1967.
Posted by: Jackal   2006-03-18 19:06  

#24  First major Naval defeat for the Allan worshippers since Lepanto in 1571!

Well, there was Operation Preying Mantis in 1988 with Iran.

Operation Praying Mantis was the 18 April 1988 action waged by U.S. naval forces in retaliation for the Iranian mining of an American warship.

The 14 April mining nearly sank the guided missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts, which was sailing in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Earnest Will, the 1987-88 convoy missions in which U.S. warships escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers to protect them from Iranian attacks. By the time the Roberts was towed to Dubai on 15 April, battered but saved with no loss of life, U.S. planning for the retaliatory operation had already begun in Washington and in the Middle East.

The battle, the largest between surface forces since World War II, sank two Iranian warships and as many as six armed speedboats.
Posted by: lotp   2006-03-18 18:07  

#23  yer a good man, (Lt. Cmdr.) Charlie Brown

"You're the kind of reminder we need.
You have humility, nobility and a sense of honor that are very rare indeed! ..."

Still have that musical on an LP somewhere here.
Posted by: lotp   2006-03-18 18:05  

#22  Too many captives are being taken. Some should be shot to encourage the balance to speak rapidly to interrogators. Captives are a big problem in the PR war.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-03-18 17:26  

#21  Why are any of them still alive?

Intelligence. You don't get much information from dead men. This way we can find out which group they work for, so we know which group to visit with a MOAB. Although at this point the entire country looks like a viable target.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2006-03-18 16:22  

#20  Why are any of them still alive?

They were part of a task force. Probably didn't want to appear insensitive to the Europeans.
Posted by: Pirate Commander   2006-03-18 16:01  

#19  Why are any of them still alive? Can't the Navy shoot straight?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-03-18 15:54  

#18   I was thinking more of one of these.

Should've used it. Let the remains float back to shore as a message to all would-be Somali pirates.
Posted by: Pirate Commander   2006-03-18 15:42  

#17  Just how stupid/high do these clowns have to be to take on a heavily-armed NAVY SHIP?

Kinda makes you wonder what they teach kids nowadays in pirate school, don't it? Maybe the little scamps just figured the Navy was armed with Malaysian Sea Skuas.
Posted by: SteveS   2006-03-18 15:32  

#16  Damn pirates--now some squid has to re-paint the bullet scuff marks on the hull. Thanks for nothing!
Posted by: Dar   2006-03-18 15:19  

#15  First major Naval defeat for the Allan worshippers since Lepanto in 1571!

Allan Aukbar!
Posted by: Happy 88mm   2006-03-18 15:11  

#14  Pappy, I was thinking more of one of these.
Posted by: Steve   2006-03-18 15:09  

#13  News reports say that one RPG 7 launcher and several AK 47s were confiscated.


Just yer typical Somali personal defence weapons
Posted by: john   2006-03-18 14:59  

#12  Well, small is a relative term. 7.62 and .50 caliber machine guns, most likely.

Yes. One can imagine what would've happened had one of these been used.
Posted by: Pappy   2006-03-18 14:56  

#11  Malnutrition during fetal and early childhood development can limit cognitive abilities for life.
Posted by: Darrell   2006-03-18 14:49  

#10  Just how stupid/high do these clowns have to be to take on a heavily-armed NAVY SHIP?

It ain't like it's a pleasure yacht or something.

Darwin award nominees all.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-03-18 14:47  

#9  Har, har mates.
Posted by: gromgoru   2006-03-18 14:45  

#8  Now you just know some young sailors days were made.

Surface action 200 yards, bearing 300.
Hey Wait! That's Meeeeeee!]
Posted by: 6   2006-03-18 14:34  

#7  Hanging time on the high seas?
Posted by: Frank G   2006-03-18 14:27  

#6  I told them to lay off the qat before heading out. But they never listen.
Posted by: Pirate Commander   2006-03-18 14:19  

#5  Aye, yer a good man, (Lt. Cmdr.) Charlie Brown! Good work.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2006-03-18 14:14  

#4  MANAMA, Bahrain, March 18, 2006 – USS Cape St. George and USS Gonzalez returned fire early today on a group of suspected pirates in the Indian Ocean, killing one and wounding five, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command officials reported today. The incident occurred about 25 nautical miles off the central eastern coast of Somalia in international waters. Cape St. George, a guided missile cruiser, and Gonzalez, a guided missile destroyer, were conducting maritime security operations in the area as part of Combined Task Force 150, officials said.

Members of this maritime coalition task force, currently led by Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort, spotted a suspect vessel towing two smaller skiffs bearing west toward the coast, officials reported. As Gonzalez's boarding teams prepared to conduct a routine boarding of the suspect vessel, the two Norfolk, Va.-based Navy ships noticed the suspected pirates were brandishing what appeared to be rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

RPGs vs Cruiser & Destroyer. Take the Navy and the points.

The suspected pirates then opened fire on the Navy ships. The Cape St. George and Gonzalez returned fire with small arms in self defense, officials said.

Well, small is a relative term. 7.62 and .50 caliber machine guns, most likely.

One suspected pirate was killed and a fire ignited aboard the main suspect vessel. Boarding teams from Cape St. George and Gonzalez took 12 other suspects, including the five who were injured, into custody. The Navy boarding teams also confiscated an RPG launcher and automatic weapons. No U.S. sailors were injured in the engagement, officials said.

The Navy ships are providing medical treatment to the wounded suspects, continuing search-and-rescue efforts for any additional suspects and collecting further evidence from the vessel and skiffs, officials said. Royal Netherlands Navy medical personnel, including a medical doctor, are en route to provide assistance from HNLMS Amsterdam.
Posted by: Steve   2006-03-18 14:12  

#3  Allan will give our bullets the firepower of a thousand! The infidels will drown by the millions!
Posted by: lotp   2006-03-18 13:44  

#2  That's real smart... open fire on a warship with small arms



Posted by: john   2006-03-18 13:13  

#1  

Passengers on the fishing boat open fire on the US Navy.

a very savy and clever move
Posted by: RD   2006-03-18 13:12  

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