EU escalates war on pirates with gunship attack on base

European anti-piracy forces carried out their first air attack on mainland Somalia on Tuesday, strafing a beach from a low-flying helicopter and destroying pirates' boats, fuel supplies and an arms cache.

The attack is likely to lead to an intensification of the campaign against the multi-million-pound piracy racket that is damaging international trade, naval intelligence sources have warned.

The dawn raid, launched from one of nine European warships patrolling off Somalia, was aimed at "making life as difficult for pirates on land as we're making it at sea", a European Union military official said.

The operation was ordered after weeks of surveillance from maritime patrol aircraft and other surveillance aircraft circling above the pirates' known hideouts.

Five small attack boats were "rendered inoperable" and pirates said that the strike also hit drums of diesel and a weapons store.

It is the first time that European military units have been ordered to attack pirates on land and follows an EU ruling two months ago allowing "disruptive action against known pirate supplies on the shore".

"We believe this action will further increase the pressure on [pirates] and disrupt pirates' efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows," said Rear Adml Duncan Potts, the British operation commander of the EU naval force.

The attack involved several European navies, including seven frigates currently patrolling off Somalia, from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Officials said it was "a European mission" and would not specify from which warship the strike was launched.

There are currently no Royal Navy vessels with the joint force, known as Operation Atalanta, since HMS Westminster was deployed there last month. The Ministry of Defence yesterday released pictures of Royal Marines from the British frigate engaging with pirates in the region last month.

No one was injured on land during yesterday's mission, and all of the EU troops involved returned safely to their vessels after the attack. None set foot on Somali soil.

The raid targeted skiffs pulled up onshore close to the known pirate town of Haradheere, on the central Somali coastline 220 miles north of Mogadishu, the capital.

"An unidentified helicopter destroyed five of our hunting boats early in the morning. There were no casualties," one pirate, who identified himself only as Abdi, said.

"We were setting off from the shore when the helicopter attacked us. We ran away without counter-attacking."

With the arrival of the French amphibious assault ship Dixmude in the coming weeks, the attacks are likely to escalate. The newly commissioned vessel is capable of carrying Tiger attack helicopters that can carry out sophisticated missile strikes from a safe distance.

"The time is now right to step up the attacks on the infrastructure to put the pirates considerably on the back foot," said a Navy source.

"However, the Somalis will certainly be better prepared next time round and are likely to defend their bases with significant anti-aircraft assets now they know that the ante has been upped. This will inevitably lead to bloodshed and escalation."

In March, the EU adopted a more robust mandate for its naval force, allowing it for the first time to mount strikes against pirate targets on Somalia's "coastal territory and internal waters". At the time, officials said the new tactics could include using warships, or their helicopters, to target pirate boats moored along the shoreline, as well as land vehicles or fuel tanks.

"The pirates have felt in the past that once they are on dry land, we have to back off," said a spokesperson for the EU force, which is led by the Royal Navy and headquartered in Middlesex. "Following the extension to our mandate, we are now able to deny them that impunity on land, and this morning's mission is a clear demonstration that we intend to make life as difficult as we can for them on land as well as at sea."

Somalia's government was informed of the operation before it began and gave it full support, an EU force spokesperson added.