LAGOS, Nigeria -- Incident details: "Armed pirates chased, boarded and hijacked a fishing trawler underway" southeast of Mogadishu, Somalia. "Several persons armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machetes attempting to climb onboard with use of rope" at Lagos anchorage, Nigeria. The Yemeni coast guard patrols the Gulf of Aden in March. Reading the International Maritime Bureau's Live Piracy Report a catalog of piracy reports from around the world, two names crop up with disturbing frequency: Somalia and Nigeria. The list reads like a history book telling tales of the buccaneers of old -- daring raids, kidnappings and ransoms. But these days, Africa's pirates are using automatic weapons and grenades.
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Risk experts say pirates in East and West Africa are after the same thing
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Tactics and weapons are becoming more sophisticated
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Ransom money is spent on luxury cars, more weapons
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International Maritime Bureau says 2009 has seen a spike in pirate attacks
Somalia is a barren, dusty failed state, and @placeholder pirates operate in the vast Gulf of Aden.