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Crew members of the US merchant ship Maersk Alabama gather around a US flag while celebrating that the captain of their ship, Richard Phillips, which had been held captive by the pirates had been freed on April 12, 2009. Somali pirates tried to seize the ship early on April 8, while it was in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 miles) off the Somali coast. CNN television, citing a senior US official, reported that three of the four pirates holding Phillips had been killed, and the fourth pirate was in custody. AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images)