According to Somali officials, the Somali pirates have boarded a ship heading for Mogadishu harbour and killed its Syrian captain. Official sources said the captain had refused the pirates' demand to turn the ship away from the port. Three crew members were also reportedly injured in the violence. African Union peacekeeping troops and Somali police launched an operation against the pirates and rescued the Panama-flagged ship. Somalia's Minister for Ports Abdiasis Hassan told newsmen that normally police are sent out to escort commercial ships into port. But he said this time the pirates were already on board and opened fire injuring one policeman. Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. <br/>