[Beirut Daily Star: Region] American naval forces handed Somali authorities the bodies of three suspected pirates on Thursday, officials said, after US snipers shot the trio earlier this month during a standoff over an American hostage.The sole surviving pirate suspect from the April 8 attack on the US-flagged Maersk Alabama is in custody in the US facing piracy charges.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Abdulle Mohammad, the chief of security in the country's northern Bossaso port, said regional authorities sent a small boat to collect the wooden coffins containing the bodies from a warship stationed around 6.5 kilometers off the coast. "I hope they will hand the bodies over to their relatives," Mohammad said, but noted that none of the people at the port in Somalia Thursday had identified themselves as family members of the dead men.
Mohammad said the Americans had said they had been doing DNA tests on the bodies during the past few days. "Their remains were initially transferred to the USS Boxer and have remained in US Navy custody until a transfer to local Somali authorities could be arranged," said Lieutenant Stephanie Murdock, a spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet.
The three men, along with the fourth suspect Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, dominated the world's television screens for days following their attack on the Alabama and the standoff over the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage. Muse eventually surrendered to a nearby warship to seek treatment for a wound sustained during the attack, and now faces trial in New York. Navy SEAL sharpshooters killed his three companions after they pointed their guns at Phillips.
In related news, Belgium will offer specially trained military teams to help its country's ships fend off attacks by Somali pirates, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday, after a Belgian ship was hijacked earlier this month.
Specially trained Belgian troops. Tremble, ye pirates.
The 515th Heavy Belgian Barbers?
Ships would be charged 115,000 euros ($153,000) a week for protection from the soldiers who would only be deployed if a European Union force already in the region could not guarantee ships' safety, said Defense Minister Pieter De Crem. "From the beginning of May until the end of June, shipping groups can call on the Defense Ministry which will deploy, in principle, eight soldiers per ship," De Crem told a news conference.