Around the World: Somalia

Pirates fight over ransom

At least three Somali pirates were killed and three others wounded in an overnight gun battle in the town of Haradhere over the sharing of a ransom paid for the release of a Greek-flagged supertanker, elders and pirates said.

"The fighting started during an argument over the dividing of the ransom paid for the ship," Bashir Shiine Muse, a pirate who claims his group hijacked the Maran Centaurus, said yesterday. "Three men died and three others were wounded during the crossfire. Local elders are trying to mediate between the two sides." The ransom, believed to be a record $7 million, was dropped onto the tanker on Jan 17, Muse said.