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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Somali pirates have released a cargo ship and its 16 Asian crew members they had held for 26 days, after the cargo owners agreed to pay a $100,000 ransom, a maritime official said Tuesday.
Somali pirates have hijacked eight vessels this year, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program. That matches the total number of pirate attacks off the Somali coast in 2006.
The Somali cargo owners, "negotiated with the pirates on Monday and agreed to pay $100,000, though the pirates requested $150,000," said Mwangura. "Now the ship is on its way to Mogadishu to offload its cargo there."
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