In another development on Friday, pirates released a Norwegian cargo ship, the Bow Asir, and its crew, the vessel's owners said.

BBC: Frenchman dies in Somalia rescue

The Bow Asir had been held since 26 March.

BBC: Frenchman dies in Somalia rescue

Unnamed Saudi officials quoted in The New York Times describe al-Ghamdi as a militant cleric from the same tribe as several of the aircraft hijackers of September 11 -- a tribe from Saudi Arabia's Asir Province, north of the Saudi border with Yemen.

CNN: Sheik in bin Laden videotape may be Saudi cleric