Somali pirates kill three Pakistanis among five crew members before tanker rescue, state authorities say

Mogadishu, Somalia - Somali pirates hijacked a tanker carrying petroleum products and killed five of its crew members, including three Pakistanis, before it was rescued by security forces, according to Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in Somalia. The incident marks the first time in over a decade that pirates have killed crew members aboard a hijacked ship.

The tanker, flagged under the Palauan flag and carrying 17 crew members, was seized by pirates in April during a recent surge in Somali piracy. The resurgence of piracy is linked to the effects of the Iran war and the resulting surge in oil prices, which have made tankers more lucrative targets. Puntland's information ministry announced that a rescue mission freed the ship and apprehended 16 pirates before the operation commenced, the pirates aboard the vessel killed five crew members.

The bodies of three Pakistani nationals, one from Myanmar, and one from India were among those found dead. Four crew members were also injured during the attack. The rescue mission comes after another successful operation last week when Puntland's Maritime Police Force (PMPF) freed a tanker called Sibu 1, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in August.

Puntland's Maritime Police Force also rescued an oil tanker named MT Eureka in May after the pirates fled when the police approached the vessel. The two rescues bring the total number of hijacked ships freed by Puntland's forces to five out of the six ships that were held by pirates off the Somali coast as of late August.