http://www.english.hadhramaut.info Yemen wages war on pirates in regional waters [The Source: www.sabanews.net - 9/9/2008] Yemen has deployed 1000 soldiers and 16 military boats so far to fight piracy in its regional waters of Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab. A source in the authority said that the purpose of these security enhancements is to reduce operations launched by Somali pirates against ships passing through this important international navigation route, according to the ruling party GPC-run al-motamar.net. Moreover, the Yemeni Coastguard Authority intensified its security patrols throughout the twenty-four hours to reinforce the protection of ships and reduce piracy operations. The deployment of these soldiers came after being subjected to intensive training programs related to rapid hunting, monitoring the pirates' movements at sea, responding to the SOS calls as soon as possible and free the ships that might be in the hands of kidnappers, in addition to undergoing fighting training in the event that armed confrontations take place. Worth mentioning, Yemen is discussing with the Joint Forces in the African Horn in addition to Malaysia and Japan to establish a regional center to fight piracy and reinforce the protection of the international navigation route via Aden Gulf.