Tagged: Somali pirates

A ninth Somali man has pleaded guilty to piracy for his role in the hijacking of a yacht that left four Americans - including two from Seattle - dead.

Ahmed Sala Ali Burale pleaded guilty in federal court in Norfolk on Wednesday. Muhidin Salad Omar also pleaded guilty earlier in the day.

They are among 14 people from Somalia and one from Yemen charged in connection with the February hijacking of the yacht Quest.

Family and friends are grieving the loss of a Seattle couple who were killed as they sailed around the world.  They were captured by Somali pirates, along with another couple from California. 

Walter Friesen  knew them.  He's a member of the Seattle Singles Yacht Club, where the deceased couple met. 

Updated at 11:22 a.m.

The U.S. military reports pirates have killed four American hostages they were holding on a yacht off Somalia's coast. The U.S. Central Command says negotiations had been under way to try to win release of the two couples on the pirated vessel Quest.

Gunshots were heard; and when U.S. forces reached the yacht, they found four all four hostages had been shot.

Two of the hostages. Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, are from the Seattle area. Quest was owned by Jean and Scott Adam, a couple from California who had been sailing around the world since December 2004.  The Associated Press reports U.S. Navy personnel administered to the four as soon as they could board the boat, but all had died from their wounds.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Seattle Hostages, Two Others Killed by Somali Pirates
• Snow in the Forecast
• Higher Logging Fees Needed: Lands Commissioner

Two From Seattle Killed by Pirates

A Seattle couple sailing around the world were among four Americans killed by their Somali captors aboard their yacht today, according to a U.S. military statement. The four were captured last Friday.