Somali pirates kill five crew members on hijacked tanker before rescue

By Reuters | Posted By TOE Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security ‌forces, Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday. Puntland’s authorities said they also ‌rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May. The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear ​to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade. The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed, in part, to impacts of the Iran war, including elevated oil prices ‌that make tankers more attractive targets. Puntland’s ⁠information ministry said in a statement that a rescue mission had successfully freed the ship and captured 16 pirates. “Before the operation begun, the ⁠pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one fr...

At least 24 killed in bandit attack in northwest Nigeria

By Ahmed Kingimi Reuters

Armed bandits riding motorcycles killed at least 24 farmers and ​wounded several others in an ‌attack on remote farming villages in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state, residents told Reuters on Thursday.

The attackers stormed communities in the Sauna district ‌of ​the Talata Mafara local ⁠government area at ⁠about 1300 GMT on Tuesday and opened fire on people working on their farms, residents told Reuters.

“They killed at ​least 24 innocent farmers. We are still counting the losses,” resident ⁠Auwal Sani said by ⁠phone.

Zamfara is at the centre ​of a security crisis in Nigeria’s northwest, ​where armed gangs locally known as ‌bandits frequently raid villages, kidnap residents for ransom and steal livestock.

Residents said the gunmen travelled nearly 50 km (31 ⁠miles) along the Mayanchi-Anka highway, a key trade route, before reaching Sauna without encountering security ⁠forces.

Police and ‌military authorities were not ⁠immediately available for comment.

Another resident, ​Bello ‌Aliyu, said Tuesday’s attack lasted ​for about ⁠three hours.

“They rustled an unspecified number of livestock, leaving several people wounded who are currently receiving treatment,” he said.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/8xc2N1B

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