Pirates spreading their net further in Indian Ocean

LONDON - US Admiral Mark Fitzgerald warned on Thursday that pirates based in Somalia are extending the reach of their seize-and-ransom activities.

The admiral told the Institute for International Strategic Studies, a London think-tank, that piracy had now reached as far south as Mozambique and as far east as India.

Admiral Fitzgerald is the commander of United States naval forces in Europe and is also commander of US naval forces in Africa. In addition he is the commander of NATO missions in the Balkans, Iraq and the Mediterranean from his base in Italy.