**UPDATED**
Today was the first time I’d heard that the Americans who were most recently captured by the Somali Pirates were Christian missionaries. They were traveling to countries around the world risking their lives for the sake of Christ to hand out Bibles. Today at the hands of the Somali Pirates they became martyrs. As the US was negotiating for their release, they were fired upon and boarded the hijacked ship to find that all the missionaries had all been executed:
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:10
UPDATE: Just to add a few more details from NPR:
U.S. naval forces, who were trailing the Americans’ captured yacht with four warships, quickly boarded the vessel after hearing the gunfire and tried to provide lifesaving care to the Americans, but they died of their wounds, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Two pirates died during the confrontation and 13 were captured and detained, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement from Tampa, Fla. The remains of two other pirates who were already dead for some time were also found. The U.S. military didn’t state how those two might have died.
One thing I would add is that in the video report above, it’s reported that the Pentagon was shocked that they killed the hostages. But these weren’t just any hostages, they were Christian missionaries and the Somali Pirates are Muslim. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Muslims killing Christians for handing out Bibles. I’d say that the Pentagon needs to learn a little more about the enemy.