US navy rescues captain held by Somali pirates

The US navy has rescued an American captain held hostage by pirates in a lifeboat adrift off the coast of Somalia, ending a tense five-day standoff by shooting dead three of his four captors.

Captain Richard Phillips, who commanded the Maersk Alabama cargo ship, was rescued when snipers took aim at the pirates Sunday evening and after President Barack Obama approved the use of force to save him, the US navy said.

He was in good condition after being held hostage for five days in the lifeboat from the Maersk Alabama after the ship's American crew on Wednesday fought off the pirates' attempt to capture the freighter.

Navy snipers hidden in the rear of the USS Bainbridge, one of two navy warships that rushed to the scene, shot and killed the pirates, said Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, commander of US naval forces in the region.

The pirates "were pointing the AK-47s at the captain," who was tied up, Gortney told reporters in a teleconference from the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

Obama had given orders to "take decisive action" if Phillips was at risk at any time, Gortney said.

"The on-scene commander thought that the captain was in imminent danger and then made that decision, and he had the authority to make that decision and he had seconds to make that decision," said Gortney.

The snipers fired when they had one of the pirates in their sights "and two pirates with their head and shoulders exposed," Gortney said.

At the time the USS Bainbridge, a guided missile destroyer, was towing the lifeboat to calmer waters and was some 25 to 30 meters 82 to 98 feet ahead of the boat.

Navy SEAL Sea, Air and Land Forces commandos were involved in the rescue, Gortney said.

According to CNN, the snipers were earlier brought in by helicopter and dropped into the ocean behind the Bainbridge.

The fourth pirate surrendered, Gortney said, adding that the US Department of Justice was "working out the details" on how and where to prosecute him.

US media described the surviving pirate as possibly being 16 years old.

Although the US government's policy is to not negotiate with pirates, Gortney acknowledged that US officials were engaged in a "deliberate hostage negotiation process" with the pirate aboard the USS Bainbridge.

Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge then flown to the assault ship USS Boxer, where he was "in good health." He called his family in the United States and received a medical checkup.

In Washington, Obama -- who had been publicly silent on the hostage crisis -- said in a statement that he was "very pleased" with Phillips' rescue, called it "a welcome relief to his family and his crew."

The United States remains "resolved" to combat piracy off Somalia, Obama said.

Somali pirates have intensified their attacks over the last week, and another group was maneuvering an Italian tugboat and its 16-member crew towards the Somali coastline after it was hijacked Saturday, pirate sources said.



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