Iraqi Tribe Frees Hijacked Oil Tanker & Crew From Somali Pirates In Intense 5-Hr Long Gun Battle In Gulf Of Aden

Tribal members from Iraq’s Al-Shaghanba clan fought Somali Pirates in an intense battle which continued for 5 hours to recover a hijacked ship owned by one of the merchants from the tribe.

Atleast 40 men armed with guns and other weapons faced the pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.

The oil tanker, which had been shipping oil from the United Arab Emirates to countries in Europe, had been hijacked by the pirates and remained in their control for almost a month.

When the pirates asked for ransom to free the vessel, men from the tribe, skilled in combat, set off to face them.

The mission was planned and executed with the help of the government and the authorities. Video footage of the same was posted on social media, which showed two tribal members with machine guns opening fire at the pirates.

The confrontation lasted five long hours and resulted in death and injury to many pirates, some of whom were subsequently captured. According to local media, atleast 7 were captured, and the ship’s crew members were also safely evacuated.

Many ships were also involved in the clash, though it remains unknown how the situation developed or who fired first.

The clan members belong to a larger tribal group called Obadah, and came from the Abu-al Khasib in the south of the city of Basra from Jaykur village, which is near the Iran-Iraq border.

Last month, the Turkish Naval forces fought pirates off Somalia in a similar operation, which led to the death of 14 pirates and the destruction of four of their skiffs and fast speed boats within 10 days.