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Pirates overpowered

MOGADISHU: Using machetes and guns, the men fought a desperate battle to take control of two boats off the Somali coast. But this time, it wasn’t pirates who launched the attack — it was Egyptian fishermen who had been held hostage for four months and who killed two brigands and took others captive as they regained control of their vessels. On Friday, the roughly three dozen newly liberated fishermen sailed toward home. One pirate was in custody in Somalia after local fishermen found him near shore with machete wounds.

Another pirate, who said he escaped during the fight on Thursday, described the struggle in a telephone interview with AP. “They attacked us with machetes and other tools, seized some of our guns and then fought us,” said the pirate who identified himself only his nom de guerre, Miraa. — AP

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Pirates overpowered

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