Jihad on the High Seas Continues

Even with several US Navy warships surrounding the Faina and a Russian frigate steaming towards it, 6 more ships have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden by islamic pirates. Wired

As if seizing a ship-load of tanks and small arms wasn't bad enough. Pirates have attacked six more vessels off the coast of Somalia in just the past week, according to data from NATO. The now-infamous, weapons-clogged MV Faina remains in pirates' hands. And international tensions are ratcheting up by the day.

The latest attacks brings the total number of "piracy-related incidents" in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast to 93. A dozen vessels are currently being held for ransom -- their last known whereabouts are on the NATO slide, above.

"Larger cargo/oil/gas/chemical tankers" are now the pirates' favorite target. The idea isn't just to make money off of a single attack. Often, the vessels are being hijacked "with the sole intention of using them" as "mother ships," to launch more small-boat strikes.

Often, the Islamic militants battling the Somali government benefit from the operations. The Al Shabaab group "received a five per cent cut of the $1.5 million paid out for a Spanish ship released several months ago," the Telegraph reports. But this time, the pirates allegedly dissed the insurgents.

....

"Al Shabaab wanted some weapons from the [MV Faina] but the pirates rejected their demands," an unnamed local official tells the paper.

Maybe that's because there's now a Russian frigate closing in on the hijacked vessel "and a half-dozen U.S. warships within shouting distance," as the AP notes.