AP Photo

On Tuesday, joint military forces operating under the European flag launched an attack against a Somali pirate base ashore. An attack helicopter, believed to be operating off of a French amphibious assault ship, engaged targets on the ground with its machine gun. Five pirate skiffs — fast boats — were reported destroyed, as was a fuel dump and ammunition storage facility. This marked the first time that the Europeans — operating as the EU Naval Force (NAVFOR) — have taken offensive action against the pirates, and followed the capture of a Greek-flagged oil tanker by pirates last week.