French raid pirate ship, US seeks to freeze assets
French raid pirate ship, US seeks to freeze assets
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and TODD PITMAN – 3 hours ago
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — The U.S. and its allies battled Somalia’s pirates on two fronts Wednesday, with French forces seizing a bandit mother ship and Washington seeking to keep the marauders from their spoils. Another U.S. freighter headed to port with armed sailors aboard after pirates damaged it with gunshots and grenades.
One pirate issued a new threat to “slaughter” Americans, and Tuesday’s assault on a second U.S. cargo ship, the Liberty Sun, underscored the outlaws’ ability to act with impunity despite international naval operations against them and mounting concern worldwide over how to end the escalating attacks off the Horn of Africa.
Pirates bombarded the U.S.-flagged Liberty Sun with automatic weapons fire and rocket-propelled grenades, but its American crew of about 20 successfully blockaded themselves in the engine room and warded off the attack with evasive maneuvers.
The ship,