Richard Phillips, captain of the U.S. flagged Maersk Alabama who had been kidnapped by Somali pirates and held for ransom in a lifeboat off the coast of Somalia, has been freed unharmed during an operation by the U.S. Navy, including Navy SEALS.
The three pirates who were on the lifeboat were killed in a brief firefight; a fourth pirate was on the USS Bainbridge for negotiations with the captain of that ship, and was taken into custody.
Captain Phillips has been transported, in good condition, to the USS Bainbridge, and then to the USS Boxer for a medical evaluation.
Earlier negotiations for Phillips release, conducted through the captain of the Bainbridge under the guidance of FBI hostage negotiators, had evidently broken down, evidently due U.S. insistence that the pirates involved in the kidnapping of Captain Phillips be arrested and subjected to the criminal justice process.
Further coverage:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/12/somalia.pirates/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/12/world/AP-Piracy.html?hp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7996087.stm