No evidence of links b/w Somalian pirates and al Qaeda: NATO

NATO forces, active in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, have so far found no links between Somalia's sea pirates and the al Qaeda affiliated organisations operating there.

NATO's maritime wing officer Commander Simon Marshal said today: "So far, there have been may attempts to link piracy with terrorism. But we firmly believe that there is no such thing as the pirates don't have any ideological leanings, they are there just to make money".

He added that there was a possibility of the terror groups getting a cut in the ransom money received by the pirates but there was no evidence to confirm these reports.

On the involvement of al Qaeda operatives in Somalian piracy, Marshal said, "Though al Qaeda has made inroads into Somalia and has links with the Al Shabab group in Mogadishu, the ransom amounts of around USD two million were very small for it to get involved."

Recent investigations by the global agencies, other NATO officials said, have found the Somalian diaspora in countries such as Italy, Gulf and Scandinavia have links with piracy.

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