U.S. Navy reports American vessel came under pirate gunfire

On Monday, approximately twelve Somali pirates attempted to board the MV Harriette, an American vessel out of Oyster Bay, N.Y. The Harriette was returning from offloading US food aid in Kenya. The pirates attacked in two small boats, but were unable to board after the Harriette's captain took evasive maneuvers. After failing to board, the pirates shot at the ship, damaging a lifeboat, but not injuring any of the 21-person crew. The United States Navy is part of the NATO anti-piracy force patrolling the waters off the Horn of Africa. Read more at NYT.

Belgian warship battles Pirates who overtook Cargo ship

There were no causalities in this attack which took place off the coast of the Seychelles. A majority of recent pirate attacks have been carried out by Somali pirates. This is of great national security and commercial concern because most of the worlds goods travel by sea. For the U.S., 95% of foreign trade is transported via ships. To read more, click here CNN.

18 dead in Somali insurgent attack on Airport

Somalia has suffered a string of insurgent attacks recently. The Islamist group responsible for the attacks is called Shabab. Despite the attacks, the President of Somalia, Sharif Sheik Ahmed, was unharmed and his plane made it safely to Uganda. To read more, click here NYTimes.