KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Maritime pirate attacks worldwide shot up 14 percent in the first nine months of 2007 from a year earlier, with Somalia and Nigeria showing the biggest increases, an international watchdog said Tuesday.

A total of 198 attacks on ships were reported between January and September this year, up from 174 in the same period in 2006, the IMB said.

It said a total of 15 vessels were hijacked, 63 crew kidnapped and three killed.

-- FROM FOXNews.com - Pirate Attacks Up 14 Percent Worldwide, Reports Watchdog - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News


This article goes on to name Somalia, Nigeria, and Indonesia as the world's top piracy hot spots, with conditions in Indonesia improving some.
However, these attacks are steadily increasing off Somaila's coast, where pirates "operate with impunity" and are siezing vessels hundreds of miles off the coast.

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