Rocket attack on American ship revenge for US rescue: pirates

Somali pirates attacked an American freighter with rockets to "destroy" the ship in revenge for an operation that freed a US captain last weekend, one of their commanders said on Wednesday.

Somali pirates attacked an American freighter with rockets to "destroy" the ship in revenge for an operation that freed a US captain last weekend, one of their commanders said on Wednesday.

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"This attack was the first against our prime target," 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."