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Piracy latest: Yemeni coastguard prevents hijack; kills one pirate

Piracy latest: Yemeni coastguard prevents hijack; kills one pirate

Yemen: The Yemeni coastguard thwarted a pirate attack on a South Korean cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing one pirate on Monday, writes DPA. A coastguard unit in the southern Yemeni port of Aden answered a distress call from the Korean ship that came under attack about 40 miles off Aden, Yemen's Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Pirates were closing in on the ship pointing rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers in an attempt to force it to stop as a dispatched coastguard gunboat reached the site, the ministry said.

"Coast guards exchanged fire with the Somali pirates and fatally shot one of them," it said, adding that the pirates fled the area and the ship was able to continue its journey. Further details of the ship's identity and its destination were not immediately available.

This was the first successful rescue by the Yemeni coastguard force in the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Yemen and Somalia, and connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean.  [03/03/09]