12:32, 16 April 2009 | GMT +5
Somali pirates attack US ship
MOMBASA. April 16. KAZINFORM Somali pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at an American freighter loaded with food aid but the ship managed to escape the attack and headed to Kenya under US Navy guard, officials said; Kazinform refers to the Arab News.

One of the pirate commanders said yesterday the attack on the American freighter Liberty Sun late Tuesday was aimed at ?destroying? the ship in revenge for an operation that freed a US captain.
?This attack was the first against our prime target,? pirate commander Abdi Garad told AFP. ?We intended to destroy this American-flagged ship and the crew on board but unfortunately they narrowly escaped us.
?The aim of this attack was totally different. We were not after a ransom. We also assigned a team with special equipment to chase and destroy any ship flying the American flag in retaliation for the brutal killing of our friends.?
Despite US President Barack Obama?s vow to halt their banditry and the deaths of five pirates in recent French and US hostage rescue missions, brigands seized four vessels and more than 75 hostages off the Horn of Africa since Sunday?s dramatic rescue of the American freighter captain, Richard Phillips.
That brought the total number of sailors being held by Somali pirates to over 300 on 17 different ships ? a distinct surge in the number of captives over the last few days.
Pirates can extort $1 million or more for each ship and crew ? and Kenya estimates they raked in $150 million last year.
The Liberty Sun?s American crew was not injured in the latest attack but the vessel sustained some damage, owner of the Liberty Maritime Corp. said.
Still, the attack foiled the reunion between Richard Phillips and the 19-man crew of the Maersk Alabama who he had saved with his heroism.
Capt. Phillips was planning to meet his crew in the Kenyan port of Mombasa and fly home with them yesterday. But he was on the USS Bainbridge when it was diverted to help the Liberty Sun, and the crew left Mombasa without him yesterday on a chartered plane; Kazinform cites the Arab News.
See www.arabnews.com for full version