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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

French Forces Raid Pirate Supply Ship

MOMBASA, Kenya — French forces raided a pirate supply ship and detained 11 brigands off the coast of Kenya on Wednesday, as pirate attacks and counterattacks racheted up tensions in one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

The French forces launched their early morning attack after observing the pirates overnight. A French surveillance helicopter spotted the pirates' vessel Tuesday, the French Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The raid thwarted the sea bandits' planned attack on a Liberian-registered vessel, the ministry said. The ship was intercepted 550 miles east of the Kenyan city of Mombasa.

A mothership usually is a seized foreign vessel that pirates use to transport speedboats far out to sea and resupply them as they plot their attacks.

Meanwhile, Somali pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at an American freighter loaded with food aid but the ship escaped and was heading to Kenya under U.S. Navy guard. - FOX News Story

There you go, the French are taking the fight to the Pirates. Where is the US?

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