Navy SEALS get it done

I love it:

Mombasa, Kenya, April 12 — An American captain being held by Somali pirates was freed unharmed Sunday in an operation carried out by U.S. Navy Seals, U.S. military officials said. Three of the pirates were killed and the fourth was captured.

The captain, Richard Phillips, who had been held in a lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean since Wednesday, was initially taken aboard the Norfolk, Va.-based guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge. He was later flown to the USS Boxer, where he received medical attention and phoned his family. The operation took place at 7:19 p.m. local time, the Navy said.

Vice Adm. William E Gortney, commander of U.S. Fifth Fleet, said U.S. military snipers opened fire on the pirates within seconds after an on-scene commander determined that Phillips’ life was in “imminent danger” because one of the pirates was aiming an AK-47 at the captain’s back. President Obama had issued a standing order that the military was to act if the captain’s life was in immediate danger, Gortney said. The U.S. military snipers were positioned aboard the Bainbridge, which was towing the 18-foot lifeboat holding three of the pirates and Phillips about 25 to 30 yards away. A fourth pirate was on board the Bainbridge as part of ongoing negotiations, Gortney said.

Gortney said U.S. Navy SEALs were involved in the rescue effort, but he did not know which snipers took the shots that killed the pirates. Phillips, who was tied up in the small lifeboat, was within feet of the pirates when they were shot. In addition to carrying AK-47s, the pirates were armed with small caliber pistols, he said.

Breitbart’s got a couple of video reports on what went down, and the reactions of the crew members of the Maersk who were anxious for their Captain to be rescued swiftly and safely.

Thankfully, prayers were answered, and he was. And a few pirates went down in the process.

All in a day’s work for the Navy SEALS!

(Via multiple ST readers)