Capt. Richard Phillips . captured by pirates

[ladybritney]

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An American captain held hostage by four Somali pirates tried to swim for his freedom but was recaptured Friday, and officials said the high seas hostage drama escalated as both pirate ships and U.S. warcraft sailed to the scene.
In a separate incident off the Somali coast, one hostage and two pirates were killed Friday when French naval forces stormed a sailboat and freed four other hostages, including a child. Three pirates were taken into custody.


PIRATE CRISIS: Navy, FBI work to rescue ship captain

Pirates threatened to kill their American hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips, if the U.S. attacked them, according to a Somali who has been in contact with the pirates who are in a lifeboat within sight of a U.S. warship about 200 miles off the coast of Somalia.

The U.S. was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Horn of Africa, where a U.S. destroyer shadowed the lifeboat carrying Phillips. He was taken hostage in the pirates' failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday.

Defense officials say the USS Boxer, flag ship for a multination anti-piracy task force, will be nearby soon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive ship movements.

The Boxer resembles a small aircraft carrier. It has a crew of more than 1,000, a mobile hospital, missile launchers and about two dozen helicopters and attack planes.

The pirates' strategy is to link up with their colleagues, who are holding Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages, and get Phillips to lawless Somalia, where they could hide the hostage and make it difficult to stage a rescue, the Somali said. That would give the pirates more leverage and a stronger negotiating position to discuss a ransom. Anchoring near shore also means they could get to land quickly if attacked.

would ,love a address on him .

[Tabby]

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