Four suspected pirates were killed in an airstrike off Garmaal, in Somalia’s Nugaal region, on Tuesday—one day after they allegedly seized a ship bound for Mogadishu, Puntland State security officials said.
The men were traveling in a small boat toward the coast when the strike took place. Puntland State authorities said the drone involved belonged to the Turkish government.
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Neither Somalia’s federal government nor Turkey had issued an immediate comment on the reported attack.
The four were reportedly among eight pirates who hijacked the M/V LUTUF off Marraya, in Eyl district, on Monday. The vessel was sailing under the Cameroonian flag and was owned by a Turkish company, according to officials.
The ship had 10 crew members on board, including six Indian nationals, one Turkish national and one Georgian national. The nationalities of two security guards aboard the vessel were not immediately available.
Preliminary information indicated that the pirates used another vessel, the MV Sward, to carry out the operation. That boat had previously been seized and was reportedly transporting agricultural fertilizer.
The four men killed in the strike were believed to have taken part in the seizure of the M/V LUTUF. Information about the remaining suspected pirates and the vessel’s crew was not immediately clear.
The reported strike comes amid renewed signs of piracy along Somalia’s coast, prompting fresh concern over the safety of commercial shipping in the region.
Somali waters saw widespread piracy during the 2000s, with attacks reaching a peak in 2011. International naval patrols, closer coordination and changes in commercial shipping practices later helped drive the number of incidents down sharply.
In recent months, however, suspected Somali pirates have returned to action.
Three tankers carrying oil and fertilizer were seized off Somalia in April and May and were reportedly being held along the Somali coast. In July, pirates also took a chemical tanker in Yemeni waters and brought it toward Somalia.
