Nine suspected pirates set free; others could face trials

Weeks after two Norfolk-based ships captured more than a dozen suspected pirates in two separate raids, the Navy returned nine Somali men to their lawless homeland on Monday.
Seven others remain in U.S. hands and could be transferred to Kenya for prosecution.
A defense official said the nine men were moved off the Lewis and Clark, a Navy supply ship that served as a floating brig for the Navy's newly created anti-piracy task force.
A coast guard vessel from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region ferried the men to shore, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The nine were captured Feb. 12 after a merchant ship reported gunshots and requested help fending off a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden.
The destroyer Mahan and the cruiser Vella Gulf responded. A helicopter from the Vella Gulf chased the 35-foot skiff. Small-boat teams apprehended the men and said they recovered a grenade launcher, AK-47 rifles and ammunition..more..http://hamptonroads.com/2009/03/nine-suspected-pirates-set-free-others-could-face-trials