ABU DHABI, Bahrain, July 21 (UPI) -- U.S. naval forces are stepping up their efforts to fight pirates off the Somali coast of east Africa, military officials say.
As pirates become more violent and aggressive and target key oil shipping lanes, the United States has put more resources into patrols and has participated in seaborne hostage rescues, USA Today reported Monday.
The United States is "very concerned about the increasing number of acts of piracy and armed robbery" there, Navy Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet in Bahrain, told the newspaper.
The United States succeeded in backing a resolution through the U.N. Security Council last month authorizing it to use "all necessary means" to battle piracy off the Somali coast, and since then has prevented at least two pirate attacks there, the newspaper said.
