Captain's wife falls military 'heroes'

The wife of the freed hostage, Captain Richard Phillips, said the U.S. military were the "real heroes."

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The wife of Captain Richard Philips was wrought with emotion as she faced the press one day after her husband was freed in a dramatic high seas rescue. Spokeswoman Alison McColl from the shipping firm Maersk Line read the statement on Andrea Phillips' behalf.

She said, "These past five days were extremely difficult. My family is extremely proud of Richard for what he has done. When I spoke to Richard today, he wanted me to tell you quote, 'I'm just a small part of this. The real heroes in this story are the U.S. military. They're the most dedicated professional and capable group around.'"

On Sunday U.S. Navy seals shot dead the three pirates who were holding her husband hostage, ending the five-day standoff off the Somali coast. The Navy said it decided to shoot the kidnappers because the captain appeared to be in danger with a rifle pointed at him.

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to stamp out piracy.

"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of privacy (sic) in that region. And to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," said Obama.

In Somalia, pirates have vowed vengeance. And Somali fishermen in Mogadishu said they fear the presence of more foreign warships monitoring the coast. Abdikadir Munganih complained they affect his catch.

"Sometimes when we go further out to sea, we face a very dangerous situation because of their fleets on our sea. And since they began, they began these operations, we catch less fish," he said.

But crew members of the Maersk say they want Obama to commit more resources to wipe out piracy. The region is so dangerous that militants fired mortars at a plane carrying visiting U.S. congressman, Donald Payne, on Monday. No one was hurt.

Fred Katayama, Reuters.