The US Justice Department was considering whether to prosecute a Somali pirate in Washington, New York or Kenya, following the rescue of a US hostage and the arrest of his only surviving captor.

Snipers on a US Navy ship cut down three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain in a surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas, ending a five-day standoff between a team of rogue gunmen and the world’s most powerful military.