S Korea commandos storm hijacked ship, save crew

sandeepdg

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SEOUL: South Korean navy commandos on Friday stormed a ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, rescuing all the 21 crew and killing eight pirates, military officials said. The SEAL special forces boarded the South Korean ship before dawn, freeing all the hostages and killing the pirates in cabin-to-cabin battles, they said. Five other pirates were captured.

"This operation demonstrated our government's strong will that we won't tolerate illegal activities by pirates any more," Lieutenant-General Lee Sung-Ho of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a news briefing.

The South Korean skipper of the chemical freighter suffered a gunshot wound to his stomach during the raid but his condition is not life-threatening , the military said. No commandos were hurt.

The rescue about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) off northeast Somalia was seen as a major morale boost for the South's military. It has faced strong domestic criticism for a perceived weak response to North Korea's shelling of a border island last November . President Lee Myung-Bak , who authorised the operation, said the military carried out the raid perfectly under difficult circumstances.

"We will not tolerate any activities that threaten the safety and lives of our people," he said.

The pirates seized the 11,500-ton ship and 21 crew members — eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 from Myanmar — on January 15 in the Arabian Sea when it was en route to Sri Lanka from the UAE. Seoul ordered a destroyer on patrol in the Gulf of Aden to give chase and President Lee ordered "all possible measures" to save the crew. General Lee said the commandos moved in after receiving information that the "mother ship" for the pirates was leaving a Somali port.
"Since we thought we could be in an extremely difficult situation if the pirates joined forces, we chose today to carry out the operation." Lee praised the freighter's 57-year-old skipper Suk Hae-Kyun for prudence. AFP

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...jacked-ship-save-crew/articleshow/7339065.cms
 

pmaitra

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Great job. Even the Russians and the French have been doing some good work. Also, the Indian Navy blew up one ship dubbed 'mother ship' some time back. This particular one was the best that I have heard so far.
 

SATISH

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Great job. Even the Russians and the French have been doing some good work. Also, the Indian Navy blew up one ship dubbed 'mother ship' some time back. This particular one was the best that I have heard so far.
Yeah 2 seconds of AK 630 high velocity incendiary rounds at close range...I wouldnt want to be there at all. It has been described as "Rain of lead" 400 rounds were expended.
 

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