Turkish commandos capture Somali pirates
Off the coast of Oman, Turkish commando forces captured 14 alleged pirates that were holding 7 Yemeni sailors, Radio Garowe reports. According to AFP news agency, a helicopter in the Giresun frigate spotted the pirate held boat 190 nautical miles from the Omani coast.
The Turkish commando team said that the boat had 9 assault weapons and one rocket launcher.
There are at least 24 countries that patrol Somalia's water for piracy.
However for reasons still unclear, one major country pulled their naval ship from Somali waters. Britain earlier this month stated that it could no longer dedicate one naval ship to Somali waters.
The reasons still not clarified but cuts in Britain's Defense budget and the hosting of this summer's Olympics has led to the pulling out of Britain's naval ship in Somali waters.
Britain a key player and advocate for the international fight against piracy very discreetly pulled their naval ship from Somali waters. According to the British newspaper the Guardian who spoke a senior Whitehall source for Britain "reassurance work in the Gulf is more of a priority."
Pirate attacks off of the coast of Somalia have decreased significantly this year. However shortly after Britain pulled out of Somali waters earlier this month pirates captured an oil tanker.
On Thursday Somali pirates hijacked a Greek owned oil tanker that reportedly departed from Turkey and was seized by pirates near Oman. The oil tanker is reported to be carrying close to a million barrels of oil.