MOMBASA, Kenya - In a daring high-seas rescue, U.S.
Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates and freed the
American sea captain who had offered himself as a hostage to save
his crew.
The operation was a victory for the world's most
powerful military but angry pirates vowed Monday to retaliate.
Those threats raised fears for the safety of some 230
foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships
anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia.
"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their
respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the
hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated
Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have)
become our No. 1 enemy."
News of Capt. Richard Phillips' rescue caused his crew
in Kenya to break into wild cheers and brought tears to the eyes of
those in Phillips' hometown of Underhill, Vt., half a world away
from the Indian Ocean drama.
A statement from Phillips' wife Andrea was read at a news
conference in Vermont on Monday. She said the hardest part for her
was not knowing what her husband was enduring. She said she is
proud of her husband and thanks everyone for giving her "the
strength to be strong for Richard."
In Washington, President Barack Obama on Monday said
Phillips' "safety has been our principal concern."
In a sharp warning to pirates off Somalia, Obama added:
"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of
piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have
to continue to work with our partners to prevent future
attacks."
"We have to continue to be prepared to confront them
when they arise, and we have to ensure that those who commit acts
of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," the president
said.
Earlier Monday, six
mortar shells were fired toward the airport in
the Somali capital of Mogadishu as a plane carrying a U.S.
congressman took off, an airport employee at the control tower
said.
New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne had met with Somalia’s
president and prime minister for a one-day visit to discuss piracy
and security issues. The airport staffer said Payne’s plane took
off safely and none of the mortar shells landed in the airport.
Phillips'
whereabouts?
Meantime, Pentagon sources told NBC News that the current plan is
to reunite Phillips with his 19-man crew from the Maersk Alabama in
the Kenyan city of Mombassa.
Phillips is still on the U.S. Navy ship Boxer, and it's
not clear exactly when he will be take to the Kenyan port city.
Pentagon officials say there's no concern over Phillips security
despite pirates threats to seek retribution.
From Mombasa, it's believed Phillips and his crew will
fly back to the United States aboard a plane chartered by Maersk
Line Lmtd., which owns the Alabama.
The stunning resolution to a five-day standoff came
Sunday in a daring nighttime assault in choppy seas after pirates
had agreed to let the USS Bainbridge tow their powerless lifeboat
out of rough water.
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said Phillips, 53, was tied up
and in "imminent danger" of being killed because a pirate on the
lifeboat held an AK-47 assault rifle to the back of his head.
In an interview with NBC's TODAY show, Gortney said it
took only three shots to kill the three pirates.
Interviewed Monday from Bahrain, Gortney said the
take-down happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed
by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and
shoulders exposed."
Gortney described the snipers as "extremely, extremely
well-trained." He said the firing by the snipers was ordered by the
captain of the Bainbridge after the pirates "exposed themselves" to
attack.
U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to
fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips’ back. Two
other pirates popped their heads up out of the lifeboat, giving
snipers three clear targets from the Bainbridge, one official
said.
Military officials Monday described the snipers'
operation as remarkable — firing at a small lifeboat 25 yards away
at night and from the stern of a ship on rolling waters.
The SEALS arrived on the scene by parachuting from
their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the Bainbridge,
a senior U.S. official said.
A fourth pirate surrendered after boarding the
Bainbridge earlier in the day and could face life in a U.S. prison.
He had been seeking medical attention for a wound to his hand and
was negotiating with U.S. officials on conditions for Phillips'
release, military officials said.
