Four American hostages killed by pirates

SOMALI pirates yesterday killed four Americans including a retired couple onboard their hijacked yacht in a sudden violent turn to efforts to end a hostage drama, the US military said.

Four Somali pirates also died, two of them killed by US special forces in one of the deadliest endings to a raft of hostage-takings off the coast of Somalia which often are resolved through ransom payments.

Jean and Scott Adam, a California couple active in missionary work, had been sailing the world on the S/V Quest yacht for more than seven years and had planned to take in sites from India to Djibouti to Crete on their latest trip.