MV Abdullah, a Bangladeshi cargo vessel, that was hijacked by a group of Somali pirates was around 150 nautical miles off the Somalian coast till Wednesday (March 13, 2024) evening. “And the ship will reach the Somalia anchorage by tomorrow morning,” Mizanul Islam, media consultant of KSRM Group, told UNB. ‘If money is not given, they will kill us’: Audio message of hijacked ship’s chief officer “All the crew members are safe and sound now on the hijacked vessel,” he added. On Tuesday, the ship, carrying coal from Mozambique’s Maputo port to Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE, was attacked around noon. Please pray, says hijacked ship Abdullah's chief engineer to his family MV Abdullah is owned by SR Shipping Lines – a sister company of Chattogram-based Kabir Steel and Rerolling Mill (KSRM) Group. All crew members are being held hostage by the pirates, said KSRM’s media adviser Mizanul Islam. Govt in touch with international bodies to rescue hijacked Bangladeshi ship, its crew: FM

Eleven out of the 23 crew members of a Bangladeshi cargo vessel, MV Abdullah, that was hijacked by a group of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, are residents of Chattogram. Earlier on Tuesday, the ship, carrying coal from Mozambique’s Maputo port to Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE, was attacked around noon. MV Abdullah is owned by SR Shipping Lines – a sister company of Chattogram-based Kabir Steel and Rerolling Mill (KSRM) Group. All crew members are being held hostage by the pirates, said KSRM’s media adviser Mizanul Islam. Bangladesh cargo vessel hijacked by Somali pirates in Indian Ocean The crew members are: Captain Mohammad Abdur Rashid, Chief Officer Mohammad Atikullah Khan, Second Officer Mazharul Islam Chowdhury, Third Officer Tarequl Islam, Deck Cadet Sabbir Hossain, Chief Engineer ASM Saiduzzaman, Second Officer Toufiqul Islam, Third Engineer Rokon Uddin, Fourth Engineer Tanvir Ahmed, Engine Cadet Ayub Khan, electrician Ibrahim Khalil, seaman Md Anwarul Haque, seaman Md Asifur Rahman, seaman Sazzad Hossain, seaman Joy Mahmud, seaman Nazmul Haque, seaman Ainul Haque, oiler Mohamamd Shamsuddin, Ali Hossain, fireman Mosharraf Hossain Shakil, chief cook Shafiqul Islam, general steward Nur Uddin, and fitter Saleh Ahmed. KSRM owns 23 ships – all operating on international routes. In 2010, one of the ships, ‘MV Zahan Moni’, was hijacked and was later released by Somali pirates after providing ransom. Read more: 11 crew swim ashore as water enters coal-laden cargo vessel in Pashur River

A religious group based in Ohio announced Monday that a violent gang in Haiti has released three more hostages, while another 12 remain abducted. The statement from Christian Aid Ministries said the people were released on Sunday in Haiti and are “safe and seem to be in good spirits." The group provided no further details. On Nov. 21, the religious organization announced that the 400 Mawozo gang had released the first two hostages of a group of 17 kidnapped in mid-October. There are 12 adults and five children in the group of 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old. The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang has threatened to kill the hostages unless his demands are met. Authorities have said the gang was seeking $1 million per person, although it wasn’t immediately clear that included the children in the group. Also read: US missionaries say 2 of 17 abductees freed in Haiti “We are thankful to God that three more hostages were released last night,” said the statement from Christian Aid Ministries, an Anabaptist missions organization based in Berlin, Ohio. “As with the previous release, we are not able to provide the names of the people released, the circumstances of the release, or any other details.” The group reiterated its request for supporters to devote Monday through Wednesday as days of prayer and fasting “to intercede for those who are still being held as well as those who have been released.” The release comes amid an ongoing spike in kidnappings in the capital of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti, which is struggling to recover from the July 7 presidential assassination, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck in mid-August and a severe fuel shortage. Also read: Negotiations drag on over 17 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti On Sunday, a gang leader known as “Ti Lapli” posted a YouTube video warning people not to cross in upcoming days through the Martissant community, which has been the site of violent clashes between warring gangs. “Insecurity has increased,” the gang leader said. “I invite the people of Martissant to stock up on food and gasoline. The next few days will be difficult... We will not remain with our arms crossed in face of those who try to destroy us."

An armed man seized a bus and took some 20 people hostage in northwestern Ukraine on Tuesday, police said. 

All the 23 children and a woman taken hostage were safely rescued and the accused killed in a police operation that lasted nearly ten hours in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, senior cops told media persons early on Friday.