Somali pirates kill two Lankans

Somali pirates seized a Sri Lankan fishing vessel after killing two crew members and took three others hostage, the Fisheries Ministry said Monday.

Pirates captured the boat as it strayed into Somali waters on January 27, the Ministry's Director Lal Silva said. The captured fishermen, who left Mirissa on January 4, had alerted Sri Lankan authorities, Silva said.

"Three fishermen were taken hostage. The two who were killed were thrown overboard by the pirates," Silva said.

He said the exact whereabouts of the fishermen was not known. Sri Lanka has no diplomatic presence in Somalia. Twenty Sri Lankan sailors were among a multinational crew captured by Somali pirates in March last year and subsequently released after their employers reportedly paid ransom money.

AFP