The US government has classified al Shabaab, an Islamic terrorists group based in Somalia, as a terrorist organization. The group has conducted beheadings of government soldiers and praised al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The Danish HDMS Thetis, a state of the art navy vessel, is now protecting food aid and conducting anti-pirate patrols in the waterways around Somalia. Somali pirates have released a Russian ship captured off the Somali coast last month after a $700,000 ransom was paid.
