Killers, cowards, damned liars: Navy deny pirates' claim that U.S. warship started firefight that killed four innocent American sailors





U.S. Navy 'caught by surprise' at sudden breakdown in negotiations

Navy: The Quest was stormed after pirates fired grenade at U.S. warship

But pirates claim they only killed hostages after Navy shot at them first



The U.S. military today reacted with fury after the pirates who killed four Americans claimed the Navy shot at them first.

Jean and Scott Adam, from California, were killed alongside Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle, Washington, in the early hours of yesterday.



U.S. Navy officials had been negotiating with the pirates when, without warning, the bandits fired a rocket-propelled grenade at their warship.



Scott and Jean Adam were shot dead by pirates who hijacked their boat in February

The grenade missed the USS Sterett, which was 600 yards from the hijacked yacht, the Quest.



Immediately afterwards, at around at around 9am local time (3am ET) gunfire erupted inside the cabin of the Quest, the Navy said.



Several pirates then moved onto deck with the hands in the air - as if to surrender - as a rescue force of 15 Navy Seals rushed onboard. The pirates began shooting at the Seals, and in the ensuing battle, two of the bandits were killed.



All four hostages had already been shot.



Today, however, pirate sources in touch with news agencies disputed the Navy's version of events.

Two Somali pirates spoke with Reuters by telephone, claiming the murders had been their response to a U.S. attack.



'Our colleagues called us ... (saying) that they were being attacked by a U.S. warship,' said a pirate who identified himself as Muhammad.

'The U.S. warship shot in the head two of my comrades who were on the deck of the yacht by the time they alerted us,' he said. 'This is the time we ordered the other comrades inside the yacht to react - kill the four Americans because there was no other alternative - then our line got cut.'

But Lieutenant-Commander Bill Speaks, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said: 'This is absolute nonsense. It is false.'



Hostages: Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, both from Seattle, were aboard the Quest with the Adams when it was hijacked. They were also killed

The Navy Seals captured and detained 13 pirates.



The remains of two other pirates who had been dead for some time were also found. They appeared to have been killed by their fellow pirates, the military said.

President Obama, who was notified about the deaths at 4.42am Washington time, had authorised the military on Saturday to use force in case of an imminent threat to the hostages, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

'We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,' said Gen. James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander.

Family and friends of the hostages were devastated after hearing the grim news today.

It is the first time Somali pirates have killed American hostages.

A file picture of the Quest. When the U.S. military reached the yacht, they found that all four hostages had been shot. Two died immediately and the others succumbed to their wounds shortly after

The USS Sterett, pictured, was 600 yards away from the hijacked yacht when the pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at it. But the pirates claim that the warship fired on them first (file picture)

Nina Crossland, niece of Miss Macay, said the Navy Seals couldn't save her aunt.

'I can speak to what I have been told about my aunt,' she said at her home in Oakley, California.



Grieving: Nina Crossland, niece of Phyllis Macay, holds up a photo of her aunt as she revealed Navy seals battled to save her

'My aunt was not dead when the Navy Seals arrived on the ship. They did try to save her but they were not successful.'

Scott Stolnitz, a friend of Mr and Mrs Adam, from Marina Del Ray, Southern California, said: 'This is all of our worst nightmares.'

Mr Stolnitz, who also sails around the world with his wife, said Mr Adam, 70, had considered shipping his yacht rather than risk going through the perilous seas, but decided instead to join a flotilla of boats.

'All they had to protect themselves was a flare gun,' said Clayton Schmit, another friend of the Adams.

He said they told him they didn't carry a gun because they felt it wasn't appropriate for a religious mission and because they were afraid it would cause complications in foreign ports.

'They knew very well that it was a dangerous place, that's why they joined up in a flotilla. But they had this tremendous heart for their mission,' he added.

Mrs Adam's brother, Mark Savage, who lives in Newport Beach, was said to be 'shocked and saddened' by the tragic development. He told the local Orange County Register newspaper: 'These are wonderful people trying to do good wherever they have travelled.

'They were travelling in a group - strength in numbers. These are highly experienced sailors in international waters and all vessels should have free passage on the seas.'

In total the U.S. said that 19 pirates were involved in the hijacking of the Quest.

Only minutes before the military said the four Americans had died, a Somali pirate told the Associated Press by phone that if the yacht was attacked, 'the hostages will be the first to go'.

'Some pirates have even suggested rigging the yacht with land mines and explosives so as the whole yacht explodes with the first gunshot,' said the pirate, who gave his name as Abdullahi Mohamed, who claimed to be a friend of the pirates holding the four Americans.

Four warships had been shadowing the hijacked yacht - which was taken by Somali pirates on Friday - since the weekend.

The yacht was thought to be moving closer to Somalia after being boarded off the coast of Oman.

It was believed to be heading to Puntland, a haven for pirates on Somalia's northern tip, hundreds of miles away, where ransom negotiations would begin.



Vice Admiral Mark Fox, the head of U.S. naval forces in the turbulent region, said the incident was yet another sign of how pirates are using larger 'mother ships' to move further out to sea, and cautioned vessels to heed warnings about pirate activity in the region.

'The pirates have been able to go for long distances out to sea, up to 1,300, 1,400 nautical miles away from Somalia,' Vice Admiral Fox said, adding that pirate activity went all the way to off the coast of India and down to Madagascar.



Jailed for 33 years: The Adams were abducted days after pirate Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse was sentenced in a New York court, and just months after British couple Rachel and Paul Chandler were released after 388 days

Prayers: Parishioners at St Monica's Roman Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California, which the Adams attended, said prayers for the couple after it was revealed they had been murdered

Over the weekend, a pirate, who gave his name only as Hassan, told the Associated Press that a warship with a helicopter on its deck was near the Quest.

Hassan said he was speaking directly with the pirates aboard the hijacked yacht.



Organisers of an international yacht race called the Blue Water Rally said the Quest had been taking part in the race but left it on February 15 to chart an independent course from India to Oman.

After the capture of the Americans, the Blue Water website said: 'We feel desperately sorry for our four friends onboard and our thoughts are with them and their friends and family.

The Quest's hijacking came two days after Somali pirate Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse was sentenced to 33 years in prison by a New York court for the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama.

Muse was arrested after U.S. Navy sharpshooters killed his comrades and rescued the ship's captain.

A pirate in Somalia told the Associated Press last week that pirates were more likely to attack Americans because of the verdict.

Mission: Mrs Adam, a retired dentist, and her husband had been sailing around the world since 2004. They distributed Bibles to schools and churches in remote villages

'It's a black day for us and also the Americans, but they lost bigger than us,' a pirate who said his name was Bile Hussein said. 'If they still want a solution and safety for their citizens in the oceans, let them release our men they arrested.'



British couple Paul And Rachel Chandler - who endured a similar abduction in 2009 - were finally released in November after 388 days in pirate captivity.



The Adams - who were members of the Marina del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, California - ran a Bible ministry, according to their website, and had been distributing Bibles to schools and churches in remote villages in areas including the Fiji Islands, Alaska, New Zealand, Central America and French Polynesia.

Mrs Adam, a retired dentist, and her husband were hoping to continue their round-the-world trip until 2012 or 2014, making it an eight or ten-year journey in total. They had booked a place in St Katherines Dock in London in October.



The pirates from Puntland in northern Somalia are not hardline Islamists, and the fact the Adams carried Bibles was not likely to have been a problem. Pirates in Puntland are known to spend their ransom spoils on alcohol, drugs and prostitutes.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today said the U.S. government was 'deeply saddened and very upset by the murder of four American citizens', which she described as a 'deplorable act' that underscored the need for more international cooperation against the pirates.

'We've got to have a more effective approach to maintaining security on the seas, in the ocean lanes, that are so essential to commerce and travel,' she said.



MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RANSOMS FUELLING BOOM IN PIRATE ATTACKS

Multi-million dollar ransom: An armed pirate stands on the Somali coastline (file picture) Pirates have increased attacks off the coast of East Africa in recent years, despite an international flotilla of warships dedicated to protecting vessels and stopping the pirate assaults.

Some 53 vessels were seized worldwide last year, all but four off the coast of Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau, and there was a total of 1,181 hostages. Multi-million-dollar ransoms are fuelling the trade, and the prices for releasing a ship and hostages have risen sharply. Somali pirates were paid more than £60million in ransoms last year, with the average payment rising from £100,000 in 2005 to £3.3million in 2010.

Pirates currently hold 30 ships and more than 660 hostages, not counting the attack against the Quest. International calls to stay out of the pirates' range have been repeatedly given to both commercial and private mariners. It is not known whether the Adams knew of the danger or simply ignored it. The Adams kidnapping also came as Interpol said it would spend $2.17million to help African nations fight piracy. The first phase of the EU-funded programme would include Interpol providing Seychelles with a digital fingerprint identification system to make it easier to identify pirates and share information on them. Other countries to benefit from the 20-month programme are Djibouti, Kenya, Mauritius, Somalia, Tanzania and Yemen. Kenya and the Seychelles have more than 100 Somali pirates in their custody.





