Somalia: Puntland Frees 22 Pirate Hostages, Arrests 8 Soldiers for Hijacking

Galkayo — Puntland government forces rescued 22 hostages after a two week standoff with Somali pirates holding the MV Iceberg 1 off of the coast of Puntland's Mudug region, Garowe Online reports.

According to a Puntland government press release, the MV Iceberg 1 vessel and its 22 hostages were released safely on Sunday.

The press release stated that the Puntland forces conducted an operation but did not elaborate on how the operation occurred.

On Dec. 10, Puntland Maritime Police Force (PMPF) attacked pirates holding the MV Iceberg after receiving information that the hostages and pirates were in the same vicinity.

"For a long time, the pirates kept the hostages apart at different locations, but information received by Puntland security agencies indicated that the crewpersons have been returned to the MV Iceberg 1," read a Puntland press release during the standoff, on Dec. 15.

After a failed attempt to rescue the hostages a blockade of the vessel ensued. The PMPF killed three pirates and captured 3 others trying to bring arms and ammunition to the pirates in Gaar'ad village days later.

The hostages who been held for close to 3 years finally regained their freedom on Sunday, after many reports of physical abuse at the hands of pirates.

"After 2 years and 9 months in captivity, the hostages have suffered signs of physical torture and illness. The hostages are now receiving nutrition and medical care," according to the Puntland press release.

8 Puntland soldiers to face military tribunal

In a separate case, a group of soldiers guarding a North Korean registered vessel MV Daesan found dumping spoiled cement near from Bossaso on Nov. 17 was briefly hijacked by the soldiers guarding the ship at the Port of Bossaso.

The 8 soldiers are currently being held in jail and will appear before military tribunal, according to the Puntland government press statement.

Puntland government administers northeastern regions of Somalia since the state government was established in 1998.


from allAfrica/Garowe Online
23 December 2012

Related articles

• You: Somali pirates release ship and hostages after almost three years (guardian.co.uk)
• Somali pirates free hostages after nearly 3 years (worldnews.nbcnews.com)
• 22 hostages of Somali pirates rescued (cbsnews.com)

Read More

Car bomb kills three in Somali capital

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

A car bomb in the Somali capital killed three people and wounded several others in the latest attack in war-ravaged Mogadishu, police said Friday.

“The car exploded while the driver was moving in it... three people were killed,” said police officer Aden Mohammed, adding it was not clear if the driver had been targeted. “We are still investigating the blast.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents have conducted a series of guerrilla style attacks in the capital since pulling out of fixed positions there last year.

The insurgents have vowed to topple President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took office in September after being chosen by the country’s new parliament, bringing an end to eight years of transitional rule.

An offensive led by the 17,00-strong African Union force alongside Somali forces has stripped the Shebab of most of the towns they held.

But the Shebab remain a potent threat, still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out guerrilla attacks -- including suicide bombings -- in areas apparently under government control.

Some of the fighters have reportedly relocated to the Galgala region of the northern Golis mountains in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.

The Golis mountains, straddling the porous border between the autonomous state of Puntland and self-declared independent Somaliland, are honeycombed with caves and difficult to access.


from AL ARABIYA
FRIDAY, 14 December 2012 

Read More

Nine dead as Somalia's Puntland forces repel Al-Shabaab attack

MOGADISHU, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Forces of the local autonomous Puntland administration in northeast Somalia said nine people including seven Al-Shabaab fighters were killed and weapons seized as local forces repulsed an attack by the militant group near the mountainous area of Galgala, authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.

"At least 7 Al-Shabaab attackers were killed, their weapons were seized and the terrorists retreated with more than 12 wounded, according to intelligence information. Two Puntland soldiers were killed in the nighttime attack," Puntland authorities said in the statement.

A group of heavily armed fighters from Al-Shabaab attacked local defense forces based at the frontlines near Galgala Mountains, said a statement from the authorities. The attack took place late Tuesday.

"The terrorists attacked from different directions and Puntland forces repelled the attackers," the local administration said in the statement.

Authorities say security forces are pursuing the attacker in the mountainous area, a flashpoint of a number of previous clashes with the radical fighters.

Separately, a roadside bomb explosion near Galgala targeted a vehicle transporting Puntland soldiers left "10 casualties", a statement from local administration said without elaborating on the nature of the casualties and when the latter attack took place.

The militant group of Al-Shabaab has lately been active in Puntland particularly in the Galgala area, north of the commercial city of Bossaso, where they sought sanctuary following their successive loses in southern and central parts of the country.

from XINHUA
2012-12-06 09:01:16
Editor: Bi Mingxin

Read More

Somali pirates free Greek-owned ship, say ransom was $5.7 mln

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates have released the Greek-owned bulk carrier Free Goddess and its 21 Filipino crew members after holding the vessel for more than eight months, the secretary general of the Seafarers Union of Kenya said on Friday.

Andrew Mwangura, whose role involves contact with ships sailing the Indian Ocean and catering for crews' welfare, said a ransom was dropped onto the vessel from the air on October 10.

"The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Free Goddess is now free and she is heading to Salalah, Oman, for ... fuel, fresh water and a crew change," Mwangura told Reuters.

Pirates said the ship had been held at Garad, a haven in Puntland that they use.

"We took $5.7 million ransom after holding the ship for months," a pirate in Garad called Mohamed told Reuters.

The amount of the ransom could not immediately be verified independently.

Mwangura is a former head of The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, an independent organization for the welfare of seafarers and a piracy monitoring group.

International navies have cracked down on pirates, including strikes on their coastal bases, and ship firms are increasingly using armed guards and defensive measures on vessels including barbed wire, scaring off Somali seaborne gangs.

That reduced the number of incidents involving Somali pirates to 69 in the first half of 2012, compared with 163 in the same period last year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

However, the commander of the European Union's anti-piracy task force has warned that pirates would "try their luck" again following a lull in attacks on the high seas off Somalia now that the monsoon period has ended.

from REUTERS
Fri Oct 12, 2012 1:22pm GMT

Read More

Somali Islamist group formally declares allegiance to Shabaab, al Qaeda

By Bill Roggio - February 25, 2012. - LWJ

A senior Islamist commander and weapons smuggler in northern Somalia who has long been tied to Shabaab has officially declared allegiance to the terror group and al Qaeda.

The merger was confirmed by Shabaab at its official Twitter account, HSM Press Office [Harakat Al Shabaab Al Mujahideen Press Office], as well as with a radio statement by a senior Islamist leader from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia.

"Following the London Conference, the Mujahideen in Galgala area of Puntland have officially become part of Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen," the first tweet from HSM Press Office declared.

"The Mujahideen in Northern #Somalia have now formally pledged allegiance to Sh. Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, Emir of Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen," it continued.

"Apart from reigning over the Golis Mountain range, Mujahideen control several towns/villages surrounding Bosaaso, commercial hub of Puntland," HSM Press Office said.

"The Mujahideen of Somalia now dominate the vast stretch of mountainous terrains of the North as well as the fertile plains of the South," HSM Press Office boasted, while ignoring the fact that Shabaab fighters abandoned the strategic western city of Baidoa to advancing Ethiopian and Somali troops just this week.

HSM Press Office's announcement was paired with a statement from a spokesman for Sheikh Mohammed Said Atom, who leads a large group of Islamist fighters in Puntland. Yasin Khalid Osman 'Yasin Kilwe,' who leads a group of fighters under Atom and serves as his spokesman, said the group "joined" with Shabaab and welcomed the merger with al Qaeda, according to Somalia Report. Osman's statement was broadcast on Al-Andalus, Shabaab's official radio station.

"I swear allegiance and adherence to the Amir of Harakat Shabab al Mujahidin Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubayr," said Osman, who described himself as the "Emir of the mujahidin in Golis mountains." Osman

"I want to praise God for the unity of our Shabaab brothers with al Qaeda fighters," Osman continued, according to Somalia Report. "This is a great victory for the all mujahideen in the world, marking the unity of Muslim jihadists in the world for the first time in recent years. I want to declare today that we are joined with our al Shabaab brothers who are devoted to the Jihad in Somalia. On behalf of the mujahideen fighters in Galgala mountains, I want to confirm to you that we shall obey the orders of the leader of the Shabaab mujahideen, Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubayr who will also be our leader."
Osman also said that for the northern Somali jihadists, "this is the first step toward the start of proper solidarity with all Muslim jihadists in the world."
Atom's pledge of fealty takes place just two weeks after Shabaab announced its official merger with a Qaeda. The two terror groups have been intricately linked for years, and the announcement of the merger was merely the formal acknowledgment of the ties between the two groups. Several days later, the Muslim Youth Center in Kenya announced its merger with Shabaab and al Qaeda East Africa.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/02/somali_islamist_grou.php

Related articles

• Somali Islamist group formally declares allegiance to Shabaab, al Qaeda (longwarjournal.org)
• London Conference aimed at carving up the Somalia Nation (alhittin.com)

Read More