Islamic Militants Vow to Take on Tanker Pirates

Promise to protect 'Muslim property'
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 23, 2008 8:38 AM CST
Islamic Militants Vow to Take on Tanker Pirates
The oil tanker MV Sirius Star was highjacked by pirates last week in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. The tanker is loaded with $100 million in crude oil.   (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class William S. Stevens)

Islamic militants have vowed to liberate a Saudi oil tanker seized a week ago by pirates off the Somali coast, reports CNN. Five armored vehicles arrived in the nearby Somali town of Harardhere filled with al-Shebab fighters, who told residents they would battle the pirates because the tanker, carrying $100 million in crude oil, is owned by a Muslim country, said a witness. "If the pirates want peace, they had better release the tanker," warned a spokesman for the militants.

Some residents speculated that the militants, battling for control of Somalia, merely want a share of the $25 million ransom. The pirates were apparently unfazed by the threat. "We are the Shebab of the sea and can't be scared by the Shebab of the land," a pirate spokesman told Agence France Presse. "If anybody attempts to attack, that would be suicide."
(More pirates stories.)

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