Accused Somali pirate pleads guilty in US court

An accused pirate from Somalia pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court in Virginia to criminal charges over an April attack on a US Navy ship off the coast of Africa, according to the court and the US Justice Department.

The defendant, Jama Idle Ibrahim, pleaded guilty as part of a deal with US prosecutors at a hearing in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, where the criminal charges over the attack had been pending. He was one of six defendants brought to the United States and charged with the April 10 attack on the USS Ashland, a warship that supports amphibious operations, in the Gulf of Aden. (Reuters)