By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 23 minutes ago

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy boarded an apparent pirate ship
in the Indian Ocean and detained 26 men for questioning, the Navy said
Sunday. The 16 Indians and 10 Somali men were aboard a traditional dhow that
was chased and seized Saturday by the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS
Winston S. Churchill, said Lt. Leslie Hull-Ryde of U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command in Bahrain.


The dhow stopped fleeing after the Churchill twice fired warning shots
during the chase, which ended 87 kilometers (54 miles) off the coast of
Somalia, the Navy said. U.S. sailors boarded the dhow and seized a cache of
small arms.

The dhow's crew and passengers were being questioned Sunday aboard the
Churchill to determine which were pirates and which were legitimate crew
members, Hull-Ryde said.

Sailors aboard the dhow told Navy investigators that pirates hijacked the
vessel six days ago near Mogadishu and thereafter used it to stage pirate
attacks on merchant ships.

Way to go Boys!