France, Germany, Pakistan, Canada, the United Kingdom and United States.[7]20062008: Operations off SomaliaAnti-piracy operationsSee also: Piracy in SomaliaThe Horn of Africa (HOA) and Horn of Africa, Extended (HOAEX) regions - the main areas of CTF-150The CTF-150 has been engaged in anti-piracy operations in Somalia in parallel to other independent anti-piracy operations by countries such as China, Iran, India and Russia.On 22 January 2006 USS Winston S. Churchill captured a suspected pirate vessel in the Indian Ocean as part of an ongoing effort to help maintain law and order in the region.[8]In the action of 18 March 2006, two United States Navy ships were attacked by Somali pirates during an opposed boarding. In the ensuing gun battle, all the pirates were either killed or captured.On 4 April 2006, the South Korean fishing vessel MV Dong Won (628) reported it had come under rocket attack off the coast of Somalia. Immediately two ships from the task force, the Dutch frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F802) and the U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) responded. However, the pirates had already hijacked the vessel and reached Somali territorial waters after threatening the captured crew members.[9]On 22 August 2006, Rear Adm. Iqbal was relieved by German Rear Admiral Heinrich Lange.[10]In December 2006, Lange passed control to British Royal Navy Commodore Bruce Williams.In March 2007, the Dutch frigate Hr.Ms. Evertsen deployed to the waters of the Horn of Africa, as part of CTF-150, and in response to a request from the United Nations World Food Programme, against piracy off the Somalian coast.The CTF-150 established the Maritime Security Patrol Area on 22 August 2008, through a narrow corridor within the Gulf of Aden aimed at deterring attack and hijacking of ships seeking safe passage through the zone.[11]Also in August 2008, the Danish command & support ship HDMS Absalon deployed to join and lead CTF 150 for a 6-month tour. On 17 September 2008, the Danish ship captured 10 pirates in two small ships. The pirates were in possession of ladders and other implements with which to board ships, as well as rocket launchers, machine pistols, and grenades. After consulting with the Danish Ministry of Justice and other task force members, it was determined by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the pirates could only be prosecuted in Denmark, partly because the pirates would have faced the death penalty in the nearby states, and Danish law prohibits extraditing criminals when they might face the death penalty. Eventually, the pirates were freed, since the Danish authorities were concerned that it would be difficult to deport them back to Somalia once their sentences were served. The pirates were allowed to keep their ships, though not their weapons.[12][13]In December, 2008, Absalon was involved in the rescue of putative Somali pirates 90 miles off Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. The craft from Somalia was reported to hold rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 assault rifles, and to have been adrift for several days. Also per the report, the Absalon took the sailors and weapons aboard, sank the craft, and turned the sailors over to