MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Somali pirate boss says that buccaneers who have been holding a hijacked ship for two years killed a hostage and wounded another to protest delayed ransom payment.
Hassan Abdi, a pirate commander in the pirate haven of Harardheere, said Friday that the killing on Wednesday was a message to the owners of the MV Orna, a ship that was hijacked off the Seychelles in 2010.
The MV Orna is a Panama-flagged, bulk cargo vessel owned by a company in the United Arab Emirates.
The pirates operating off the Somali coast of the Indian Ocean were once believed to be disgruntled and financially motivated Somali fishermen who were angry that international trawlers were illegally fishing Somalia's waters. Now it appears that criminal gangs are dominating the piracy trade.
?
