By Mohamed OIadhassan Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Disagreements between Somali pirates holding a ship laden with tanks and heavy weapons escalated into a shootout, and three pirates are believed dead, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday. The pirates denied the report. The U.S.

MOSCOW. Sept 29 (Interfax) - A member of the crew of the Ukrainian ship Faina, seized off Somalia on Thursday, died of natural causes, Mikhail Voitenko, the Naval Bulletin - Sovfrakht editor, said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

A heavily armed US destroyer was stationed off the coast of Somalia yesterday, making sure that pirates there don't remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship.

As a U.S. destroyer patrolled nearby and planes flew overhead Sunday, a Somali pirate spokesman said his group was demanding a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks. He warned that the pirates would fight to the death if any country tried military action.

By Mohamed Olad Hassan Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia -- As a heavily armed U.S. destroyer patrolled nearby and planes flew overhead Sunday, a Somali pirate spokesman told The Associated Press his group was demanding a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks.