Somali Pirates Hijacked 4 US ships again - Breaking news

According to breaking news, Somali pirates continued to thumb their noses at the world -- hijacking four more ships, even as America's top military commander told esolgsmnews the United States is reviewing its options, including whether to go into pirate villages.

The pirates have now seized four ships since the dramatic rescue of American Capt. Richard Phillips Sunday, who was taken hostage during a failed hijacking attempt.

Just as the cheers were dying down for the daring rescue of Phillips that left three pirates dead, Somali pirates swooped down on more victims. This time they struck in the Gulf of Aden along the north coast of Somalia.

Two Egyptian fishing boats were hijacked, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry, which said the boats carried a total of 18 to 24 Egyptians.

The biggest overnight prize for the pirates was the capture of the Greek freighter M.V. Irene and a Togo-flagged freighter named the Sea Horse, according to NATO officials. The Irene had a crew of 22. There was no immediate information on the Sea Horse crew.

NATO said that pirates in three skiffs attacked a fifth ship today, the Liberian frieighter Safmarine Asia, with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, but failed to capture it.

Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said pirate attacks this year had risen to 78, with at least 19 ships hijacked and more than 300 crew members still in pirates' hands. Each boat carries the potential of a million-dollar ransom.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States can't end Somali piracy by itself and noted that 16 nations have warships in the region, which is roughly four times the size of Texas.

When Mullen was asked today whether the United States had considered attacking the pirate strongholds in Somalia, the admiral said, "I've asked, and we've been doing this. We've initiated a review on the Joint Staff to look broadly and widely and deeply at the overall strategy," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."

One problem in taking on pirates is what to do with them once they are arrested, Mullen said. There is a deal with Kenya to try pirates in court there, but so far, no pirates have been put on trial

The United States is holding the lone survivor of the four pirates who took Phillips hostage and is trying to decide how to handle his legal case.

President Obama said Monday that he was determined to defeat piracy.

"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," Obama said Monday.