U.S. Marines Retake Pirate-held Vessel off Somali Coast

Two dozen U.S. Marines boarded and cleared a German-owned container ship in the Gulf of Aden on Sept. 9 after it was briefly seized by Somali pirates. The operation is the first known attempt by U.S. forces to raid a ship held by pirates off the Somali coast. In addition to the crew locking themselves in a safe room in the cargo ship out of the pirates' reach, international maritime forces patrolling the waters off Somalia have increased their intelligence-collection efforts over the past two years. Together, these factors may have allowed the U.S. ship carrying the Marines to better position itself to respond to the hijacking, and upon arriving, easily overcome the pirates without putting the crew at risk.