Slain Pirates Were 'Untrained Teenagers': US

They were young men 'with heavy arms:' Gates
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:17 PM CDT
Slain Pirates Were 'Untrained Teenagers': US
In this 2008 file photo, Somali pirates held by Puntland police forces sit in Bassaso, Somalia.   (AP Photo)

Capt. Richard Phillips’ captors were young men new to high-seas crime, AFP reports. The Somali pirates, aged 17-19, were “untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, adding that Somalia needs “something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids.” Navy snipers killed three of the men during yesterday’s high-seas rescue mission. (More Somalia stories.)

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