Merchant ship's security team kills pirate

Private security guards aboard a merchant ship off the coast of East Africa fired on and killed a Somali raider after a group of pirates attacked their vessel, it emerged today.

A European Union Naval Force spokesman, Commander John Harbour, said the killing of the pirate is believed to be the first by a private security team.

Merchant ships travelling through pirate-infested waters in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean have increasingly begun putting armed security onboard to thwart attacks.

An EU Naval Force frigate was dispatched to the scene yesterday and launched a helicopter that located the pirates. Seven were found, including one who had died from small-calibre gunshot wounds.

The six remaining pirates were taken into custody.