U.S. warship captures pirates off Oman

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. destroyer captured 10 suspected pirates off the Omani coast and rescued 8 crew members taken hostage from the Indian cargo dhow Faize Osamani, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The incident took place on Monday. Guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul, which was operating on Gulf Aden waters, received a distress call from MV Rising Sun, which said pirate skiffs had pulled alongside and were firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at them.

McFaul and Omani warship Al Sharquiyah responded, and Rising Sun increased speed, used evasive maneuvers and sprayed potential attackers with fire hoses to thwart the pirate attack as the navies were in transit. The efforts were rewarded when the pirate skiffs broke off their attack and returned to their mother ship, the hijacked Faize Osamani.

The Omani vessel arrived first to the last known location of the pirate mothership. As the Omani ship approached, the nine hostage sailors from Faize Osamani jumped into the ocean. Eight of them were rescued and one was drowned.

After the McFaul arrived, the pirates aboard Faize Osamani agreed to a compliant boarding. Two boarding teams from McFaul deployed in rigid-hull inflatable boats boarded the dhow and took control of the Faize Osamani.

The surviving sailors of the dhow Faize Osamani were returned to their vessel, and the Omani warship transported their lost shipmate's body to shore.

The suspected pirates were transferred to the destroyer USS Carney in anticipation of further transfer to a state willing to accept them for prosecution.