IRAQ HAS had to contend with invasion and occupation by the US-UK alliance, the arrival of the al-Qaeda franchise, the growth of homegrown insurgents and a bloody toll of bombings, shootings, torture and kidnapping that's left hundreds of thousands of men, women and children dead. But now the country has got one more horror to contend with pirates in the Persian Gulf.

A Royal Navy frigate in the Gulf has been tasked to seek out gangs of pirates operating in coastal waters off the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr, and a British naval training team is schooling Iraq's embryonic navy in how to run operations designed to take out teams of armed pirates at sea.

The latest incident took place on August 2 when a Cyprus-flagged container ship, the MV Sima Touba, was attacked by armed pirates near Umm Qasr. The pirates, who were heavily armed, boarded the ship spraying gunfire, injuring the second officer. They fled after stripping the entire crew of cash and personal belongings.

The attack has struck an ominous note with the Royal Navy, which has long feared that sea-borne terrorists could successfully strike at Iraqi oil terminals and wellheads. There have already been failed terror attacks on oil facilities.

"A successful attack would have a huge effect on attempts to develop the country," a naval spokesman said. "Oil flowing through the wellheads generates about 90% of Iraq's GDP. We are working to try and establish who the good guys are, and monitoring all sea traffic - working out what the pattern of legitimate traffic is - so we can spot the odd man out should they turn up to carry out acts of piracy or terrorism. Our role is to police these waterways."

The International Maritime Bureau, which monitors pirate attacks globally on behalf of world shipping, described the Iraqi attacks as "very worrying". IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said: "The pirates operating in Iraq are heavily armed and well trained. So far, they have only been motivated by financial gain, but given the security environment and the availability of arms we need to treat this new development very carefully indeed."

The pirate activity in Iraq is part of a global spike in acts of piracy this year. According to IMB figures, between January and September last year there were 174 pirate attacks across the world, while this year there have been 198 - a rise of 14%. One of the worst zones in the world for attacks is now the Horn of Africa, the coastal waters of war-torn Somalia. Last year, there were just eight attacks in Somalia, this year there were 26.

Today, some 60 merchant sailors are being held hostage by Somalian pirates in the port of Hobyo, an ancient harbour city. Mukundan described the hostage-taking as "unbelievable".

The crews of three ships - two Korean and one Taiwanese - have been held by armed pirates since being captured off Somalia three months ago. The ships have been tied up in port - where they will remain until the owners of the vessels pay the ransom demanded. Mukundan would not detail the total ransom demanded, but would only say that it is a "considerable sum of money". One recent ransom came to £300,000 for one crew alone.

Two of the captured ships are fishing vessels, which make good targets for pirates. They are vulnerable to attack as they fish just outside territorial waters and can be snatched relatively quickly and forced into port.

Mukundan said: "It is very sad that the world does not seem to care about these men. The media has not reported this story. Perhaps it is because of where the men come from."

The International Maritime Organisation, a United Nations body, is petitioning the UN Security Council, in the wake of the recent hostage-takings in Somalia, to ask the country's government to invite naval forces, such as the UK's, into coastal waters to assist in the fight against piracy.

"Piracy is a crime which takes place against a foreign seaman on a foreign ship carrying a foreign cargo which just happens to be passing through another country's waters. Many countries, which are poor or do not have the best law enforcement infrastructure, would rather not act," said Mukundan.