Radical Islamist insurgents in Somalia seized one of the country’s most notorious pirate dens Sunday, raising questions about whether rebels with connections to al-Qaeda will now have a pipeline to tens of millions of dollars — and a new ability to threaten global trade.
Dozens of insurgents stormed into Xarardheere, a pirate cove on the central Somali coast, around noon, but instead of putting up a fight, the pirates sped off. The pirates of Xarardheere hold several hijacked ships. But before they fled, they sent the ships further out to sea to prevent Islamist insurgents from capturing their hostages, a worrying prospect for Western diplomats and others, who fear the insurgents could exploit the hostages for political ends.
An insurgent spokesman implied Sunday that his movement would close Xarardheere’s piracy business.
