08/08/08 (B460) La marine américaine empêche une attaque de pirates somaliens ( 2 dépêches en Angalis

_______________________________ USA Today

The U.S. Navy says one of its ships stopped pirates who were attacking a merchant ship today off the Somali coast.

In a statement, the Navy says USS Peleliu « responded to a call for help from the merchant vessel Gem of Kilakarai at approximately 7 a.m. when the ship reported it was under attack from armed pirates in two small boats with weapons and rifle-launched grenades. »

The pirates fled; no one was injured.

______________________________ Shabelle

US ship prevents pirates from hijacking commercial ship

The U.S. Navy says it has stopped a pirate attack on a merchant vessel north of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.

The Navy says the USS Peleliu responded to a call for help from the Gem of Kilakari on Friday morning. The ship said it was under attack from armed pirates as it was traveling to the Suez Canal.

The Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said in a statement that the USS Peleliu was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Gem of Kilakari when it received the distress call.

The Navy says the suspected pirate ships fled the scene after the USS Peleliu launched three helicopters. The Navy says one grenade landed on the Gem of Kilakari’s bridge wing but didn’t explode, and no injuries were reported.