British and Russian ships fight off Somali pirates

Battling the al Qaida backed pirates off the coast of Somalia will be one of the central fronts in the war against jihadists. Al Qaida has designated the Gulf of Aden to be integral in their goal of establishing islamic states in Somalia and Yemen. Guardian

A British frigate and a Russian warship fought off Somali pirates trying to hijack a ship in the Gulf of Aden, both countries' navies said today.

The pirates used assault rifles as they twice tried to seize a Danish vessel, the Powerful, but were repelled by HMS Cumberland and a Russian frigate, the Neustrashimy, the Russian navy said. The defending ships used helicopters in the operation.

"The pirates tried to shoot at the ship using assault rifles and carried out two hijacking attempts," the navy said in a statement.

"The activities of the pirates were thwarted through the joint efforts of the Russian warship and the British warship," it added.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman in London said: "We can confirm that a UK warship yesterday carried out a boarding of a foreign-flagged dhow, suspected of being engaged in piracy. The situation is ongoing."