Phillips after a failed attempt to hijack his ship , the Maersk Alabama . For five days the pirates held Phillips in the lifeboat as U.S. Navy ships closed in and lingered nearby . On Sunday , U.S. Navy snipers opened fire on the lifeboat after seeing one pirate point an AK-47 at the captain 's back , the U.S. military said . The shootings occurred as one pirate was aboard the USS Bainbridge negotiating over Phillips ' fate . Watch how SEALs shot three pirates '' Three pirates in the lifeboat were killed . Phillips was not hurt . He was taken to another U.S. Navy vessel , the U.S. military said , where he received a medical checkup and spoke by phone with his wife in the United States . Watch admiral tell how rescue went down '' Pirates in Somalia identified the slain men as Mohamed Ahmed Adawe , Nur Dalabey and Khalif Guled . Two of them -- Dalabey and Guled -- were among the `` most experienced men '' in a group that has hijacked seagoing vessels for money , Ahmed said . They were killed two days after the French military freed four hostages
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Two pirates in Somalia vowed revenge Monday , after the U.S. military killed three pirates and freed a U.S. ship captain who had been held hostage for several days . Crew members of the Maersk Alabama celebrate after hearing the Navy had rescued their captain from pirates . The pirates told a Somali journalist that they were angered by the U.S. action , as well as a French raid Friday that killed two pirates and one hostage and freed four hostages . `` We have decided to kill U.S. and French sailors if they happen to be among our future hostages , '' said Abdullahi Ahmed , a member of a pirate group based at Harardhere , a coastal town in central Somalia . President Obama said Monday the United States will confront pirates and hold them `` accountable for their crimes . '' Obama added that he is proud of the military 's actions in rescuing Capt. Richard Phillips from his pirate captors . Members of the U.S. Navy shot and killed three pirates who had been holding Phillips hostage in a lifeboat on Sunday evening , a military official said . The pirates seized