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Africa Horn
Somali Pirates Fire on U.S. Helicopter
2009-08-27
Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship off the coast of Somalia fired at a U.S. Navy helicopter as it made a surveillance flight over the vessel, the first such attack by pirates on an American military aircraft, the Navy said Thursday.

The helicopter, which is based on the USS Chancellorsville, wasn't hit and there were no injuries, the Navy said.

The chopper was flying on Wednesday over a Taiwanese-flagged fishing vessel, the Win Far, which pirates seized along with its 30-member crew in April and were holding south of the Somali port town of Hobyo.

The helicopter was about 3,000 yards away from the ship when the pirates opened fire with " a large caliber weapon," the Navy said in a statement. The helicopter didn't return fire, it said.

Since seizing the Win Far in the Gulf of Aden, the pirates have used the vessel as a base for attacking other commercial ships, including the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama.
Posted by:ed

#5  notascrename, I think now is the time when we point and laugh.
Posted by: trailing wife   2009-08-27 22:55  

#4  first report i read said they'd only realized they'd been fired at later, reviewing the after action films.
Posted by: notascrename   2009-08-27 22:38  

#3  Also, as I understand it, most Naval helicopters, especially those embarked on cruiser/destroyer types like the Chancellorsville, are unarmed. At most they might carry an anti-submarine torpedo.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2009-08-27 22:23  

#2  The helicopter didn't return fire, it said.

Barry forbids it. They might hit innocent villagers.
Posted by: Besoeker   2009-08-27 09:31  

#1  Sounds like someone just received a shipment of .50 cals and wanted to try it out.
Posted by: gromky   2009-08-27 09:07  

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