Five Indian fishermen were injured Sunday in the latest of a series of attacks on Qatari fishing boats by pirates off the northern coast of the country, reported the Gulf Times on Monday.
The five were wounded when their boat was attacked by a gang of seven buccaneers, sources said.
They were also robbed of their catch, money and costly equipment, all worth thousands of riyals.
The fishermen, all Indians, said this was the seventh attack on Qatari fishing boats operating from Shamal in recent memory.
In the latest incident, two of the fishermen had to be admitted to hospital, where one is still undergoing treatment, the sources told the paper.
The masked rogues forced the fishermen into a container on the boat and locked them inside.
The pirates then took the boat to some shore where they emptied the catch.
They also made off with the Global Positioning System (GPS), some new clothes and the savings of some of the fishermen.
The journey to the pirates' shore took about five hours, they said.
One of the fishermen, Kunhi Bawa, suffered a head injury when he was hit with an iron rod by the attackers. He is currently undergoing treatment.
The growing incidents of piracy have unnerved the fishermen, who have urged the authorities to provide them with protection, said the paper.
In a major breakthrough, three pirates were arrested inside Qatar’s territorial waters by Qatari authorities, the paper said.
Meanwhile, friends and relatives of four Indian fishermen missing since February suspect that they might have fallen victim to the armed pirates.
They went missing while they were on a fishing trip from Al Khor, the relatives told the Gulf Times - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
