[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Police in Somalia's northern Puntland...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
region have placed in durance vile
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
several suspected pirates, including a heavily armed gang accused of holding a Danish family hostage last year, officials said.
Troops from semi-autonomous Puntland attacked the northeastern pirate base of Hafun on Sunday, arresting 11 men including suspected pirate Mohamed Hassan -- known as Dhafoor -- and seizing automatic rifles and a machine gun.
"Dhafoor... is a well-known pirate wanted by Puntland authorities for hijacking commercial vessels travelling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden waterways," Puntland's security forces said in a statement.
The authorities accuse Dhafoor of killing five Puntland security officers during a botched March 2011 operation to release a Danish family he was reportedly holding hostage.
Pirates captured the seven Danes -- a family including three teenage children, plus two crew members -- in February 2011 during a round-the-world voyage. They were released in September after the reported payment of a multi-million dollar ransom.
| Think of the essays the children will be able to write for their college applications, and the equanimity with which they'll be able to face the little exingencies if daily life back home after spending more than half a year wondering each morning whether they would still be alive and unharmed by sunset, just because Mama and Papa wanted a unique family adventure. |
The pirates are holding dozens of ships and hundreds of sailors for ransom, and have also branched out into land-based kidnapping.
Mr Ahmed Omar Issa, the front man of Puntland said "The suspects are assumed to be pirates with a record of attacking Puntland forces."
The front man told the media that some of the captured persons are infamous with past engagements in kidnappings and assaults on Puntland security personnel.
"The seized pirates include some of those involved in the kidnapping of a Danish family (that was recently released)," stated Mr Issa.