3 pirates killed in clash with Royal Navy
(B2) At sea, there are bizarre connections... The Russians were not alone in coming to the rescue of the Danish boat, the MV Powerful. A Royal Navy ship - the HMS Cumberland, part of the NATO patrol, SNMG2 -, was also present in the vicinity, according to the Russians, and had dispatched a helicopter. If this were proven, it would thus be the first combined operation, of NATO forces and Russian forces, since the events in Georgia which had singularly cooled relations between the two organizations. Failing to bring together the NATO-Russia Council on land, we bring it together at sea in a way!
In any case, the Royal Navy denies having acted in concert with the Russians. What she recognizes on the other hand: it is that she was present in the zone; and that she had spotted a ship exactly resembling the one that had tried to attack the Danish ship. A fishing boat registered in Yemen, we learned afterwards.
She dispatched two "zodiacs" with marine commandos, assisted by a Lynx attack helicopter. The usual warnings would have been made. But the "pirates" apparently made the mistake of opening fire on the two inflatable boats of the British army. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, two pirates died instantly. A third seriously injured - of Yemeni nationality - died afterwards, despite the treatment given by the doctor on board the Cumberland (The UK Ministry of Defense cannot confirm whether it was following the exchange of gunfire) . The pirates have surrendered. While searching the boat, the commandos found guns and other items. According to the press British, this is the first time that a Navy ship has been engaged in such deadly firefights. According to the Ministry of Defense, the soldiers were in a position of "self-defense".
(NGV)
