Or does this sound like bullsh!t.
I thought the Islamists considered the Saudis to be stooges of the west?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...di-tanker.html
Armed Islamic militants were reported to have entered the port of Haradheere close to where the ship is moored and home to many of the pirates behind her hijacking.
A spokesman for the Islamists said his group was angry pirates had attacked a ship owned by Muslims. The Sirius Star is owned by a Saudi-controlled company.
"The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship," an unnamed local tribal elder said.
It is common for Somali pirates to booby-trap vessels they have seized raising the prospect of the Sirius Star being blown up if Islamists start a firefight with those who seized her.
Two of the crew are British, Peter French, 44, from County Durham, and James Gray from Strathclyde, in Scotland.
Yet more political violence gripped the war-ravaged capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, more than a hundred miles south of Haradheere.
In one clash at least seventeen people died when a fierce firefight erupted as a militant Islamists attacked the home of a local government official.
And other armed Islamists continued their advance on the city hoping to oust the transitional government installed there with western diplomatic backing and the support of the Ethiopian army.
With Ethiopia starting to pull back its troops the way now seems clear for Somalia to be completely overrun by a theocratic militia espousing radical Islam.
The confused security situation on the ground in Somalia raised a new set of problems for negotiators trying to secure the release of the ship on behalf of its owners, Vela International Marine.
And it reduced considerably any chance of a rescue operation by foreign naval powers to try to win back control of the ship.
The role of Islamists in Somali piracy is ambiguous. While some Islamic leaders condemn the practice others are more tolerant, not least because they can receive a share of ransoms paid to win the ship's freedom.
The Sirius Star's hijacking has raised concern that fresh economic problems will be heaped on the already damaged global economy.
Large shipping companies have already begun to re-route ships away from the approaches to the Suez Canal, where Somali pirates operate, and around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Africa.
Such a strategy inevitably adds to inflationary pressure in Europe and the developed world as the additional transport costs are passed on to consumers.
The only strategy left to foreign powers appears to increase naval escort capability around Somali waters. India today indicated it was planning to send more warships although it declined to say how many.
I thought the Islamists considered the Saudis to be stooges of the west?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...di-tanker.html
Armed Islamic militants were reported to have entered the port of Haradheere close to where the ship is moored and home to many of the pirates behind her hijacking.
A spokesman for the Islamists said his group was angry pirates had attacked a ship owned by Muslims. The Sirius Star is owned by a Saudi-controlled company.
"The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship," an unnamed local tribal elder said.
It is common for Somali pirates to booby-trap vessels they have seized raising the prospect of the Sirius Star being blown up if Islamists start a firefight with those who seized her.
Two of the crew are British, Peter French, 44, from County Durham, and James Gray from Strathclyde, in Scotland.
Yet more political violence gripped the war-ravaged capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, more than a hundred miles south of Haradheere.
In one clash at least seventeen people died when a fierce firefight erupted as a militant Islamists attacked the home of a local government official.
And other armed Islamists continued their advance on the city hoping to oust the transitional government installed there with western diplomatic backing and the support of the Ethiopian army.
With Ethiopia starting to pull back its troops the way now seems clear for Somalia to be completely overrun by a theocratic militia espousing radical Islam.
The confused security situation on the ground in Somalia raised a new set of problems for negotiators trying to secure the release of the ship on behalf of its owners, Vela International Marine.
And it reduced considerably any chance of a rescue operation by foreign naval powers to try to win back control of the ship.
The role of Islamists in Somali piracy is ambiguous. While some Islamic leaders condemn the practice others are more tolerant, not least because they can receive a share of ransoms paid to win the ship's freedom.
The Sirius Star's hijacking has raised concern that fresh economic problems will be heaped on the already damaged global economy.
Large shipping companies have already begun to re-route ships away from the approaches to the Suez Canal, where Somali pirates operate, and around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of Africa.
Such a strategy inevitably adds to inflationary pressure in Europe and the developed world as the additional transport costs are passed on to consumers.
The only strategy left to foreign powers appears to increase naval escort capability around Somali waters. India today indicated it was planning to send more warships although it declined to say how many.
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