Pirates kill crewman

Pirates hijacked a commercial ship off the coast of Somalia, killing an Indian crew member and wounding two others before releasing the vessel a week later to return to its home port in the United Arab Emirates, officials said today.

The ship, the Al Taj, had about 20 crew members on board, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program. He did not know what cargo the ship was carrying.