La Somme was operating 250 nautical miles (460 km) off the Somali coast.Somali Pirates Attack French Military Flagship -- AFP
NAIROBI — Somali pirates attempted to storm the French navy's 18,000 tonne flagship in the Indian Ocean after mistaking it for a cargo vessel, the French military said on Wednesday.
The crew of La Somme, a 160 metre (525 foot) command vessel and fuel tanker, easily saw off the brazen night-time assault by lightly armed fighters on two lightweight skiffs and captured five pirates, a spokesman said.
"The pirates, who because of the darkness took the French ship for a commercial vessel, were on board two vessels and opened fire with Kalashnikovs," Admiral Christophe Prazuck said in Paris.
Read more ....
More News On Somali Piracy
French Navy Repels Somali Pirate Attack -- Voice of America
Pirates hit navy ship 'in error' -- BBC
5 held after pirates attack French vessel -- CNN
Pirates choose wrong target - a French warship -- Times Online
Pirates hunting for cargo ships mistakenly attack French naval vessel -- USA Today
My Comment: Maybe the Somali pirates knew that this was a French military ship, and decided to take a chance to take it. I know that they would have never succeeded .... I am sure a good number of French marines are on board .... but it would have been (in a dark and morbid way) hilarious if they were successful.
Seriously .... these "pirates" are stupid. But the look on their faces must have been priceless when the French Navy responded to their attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment