Report: Al-Shabaab extends reach with offer to protect Somali pirates..

After a six-year lull in major attacks, Somali pirates in December attacked four vessels as international navies relocated from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, where they protect maritime traffic from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Some observers believe al-Shabaab militants in Somalia’s northern Sanaag region reached a deal to provide protection to pirates in exchange for 30% of all ransom proceeds and a cut of any loot, Emirati newspaper The National reported.

The deal could provide al-Shabaab with critical funds after the Somali government clamped down on its other illegal money sources and froze its bank accounts. The terrorists also are suspected of negotiating with pirates and Houthi rebels to acquire weapons.

Somali pirates on 14 December attacked the Maltese-flagged cargo ship MV Ruen about 680 nautical miles east of Bosaso, Somalia. It was the first successful attack by Somali pirates on a merchant ship since 2017.

“No figure has been confirmed yet but pirates are demanding that as part of the deal they promise not to harm the crew on condition that once they receive their ransom they be allowed to walk Scot-free and should not be attacked or arrested,” Ahmed Mohamed, described as a “close ally” of the pirates, told The National, a news service reporting on the Middle East.

Witnesses in Bareeda, a town on the Red Sea coast, told the Somali newspaper Horn Observer that the MV Ruen was held about 100 miles offshore. Somali authorities believe the pirates used an Iranian fishing vessel for the hijacking. Mohamed said the pirates were looking for more ships to hijack, “The second dhow that was recently hijacked near Eyl is currently being used by the pirates to hunt for other ships,” he told The National.