Pirate reinforcements rush to US hostage stand-off

More US warships – as well as pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages – today rushed to where four Somali bandits are holding a US sea captain hostage.

In a dramatic escalation of the Indian Ocean stand-off, the pirates apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Captain Richard Phillips and hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages captured in recent days as human shields.