Navy rescue kidnapped ships captain

On 12 April 2009 U.S. naval forces rescued a freighter captain being held hostage by Somali pirates on a small lifeboat. Reports indicate that Navy Seal snipers opened fire on the lifeboat in the nighttime raid, killing all three pirates onboard while other troops moved in to free the hostage. U.S. military commanders stated that the operation was approved by U.S. President Barack Obama after ransom negotiations with the pirates stalled. The captain, who was taken hostage during a pirate raid on the Maersk Alabama container ship off the coast of Somalia on 8 April, was allegedly in "imminent danger" of being killed by the pirates. While the crew of the ship was able to fend off the pirates, the captain was taken off the vessel and held on a small lifeboat that drifted toward the Somali coast. Pirates in the area responded to the rescue by calling for retaliatory attacks against U.S. ships.