Three Somali pirates killed in fight over US$1.6m ransom money

Three Somali pirates were killed when fighting over the US$1.6 million ransom believed to have been paid to free a German-American journalist who was released this week after two years and eight months of captivity.

The gunfight broke out in the town of Galkayo late on Thursday when some of the pirates who held Michael Scott Moore attacked their comrades, accusing them of conducting a secret deal with negotiators, police official Mohamed Hassan said.

The clash started after one group of pirates appeared unwilling to share the cash with others, said Bile Hussein, a pirate commander in the coastal town of Hobyo, said.

A top pirate commander was among those killed.

Germany's Foreign Ministry has not confirmed money was paid and US policy forbids the payment of ransoms.

The 45-year-old Moore, who holds both German and US citizenship, was released on Tuesday and flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where he was said to be getting medical care. A statement issued on Thursday through the German magazine Der Spiegel, for which Moore had freelanced in the past, said he was safe but not healthy.