Pirates threaten revenge on Korea

Somali pirates threatened yesterday to kill any South Korean seamen they took hostage, in revenge for the killing of eight pirates by South Korean troops who stormed a hijacked vessel.

Pirates from two bases on the Somali coast said they were taking some crews held as hostages off their vessels and moving them inland in case of more rescue attempts by foreign warships.

Somali pirates typically do not harm their captives because they expect to negotiate a lucrative ransom. But now they say they want to avenge the deaths of their comrades.