More indication that the Somali pirate raids are [1] part of the jihad. Increased popularity for the water jihad may have to do with the fact that, according to most jurists, the jihadist who dies fighting at sea receives double the "reward" of the one who dies on land.

"Al-Qaeda possibly behind piracy in Gulf of Aden: official says," from [2] News Yemen, October 13:

SANA’A, NewsYemen

Manager of the Presidency Office Ali Mohammad al-Anisi as saying that al-Qaeda might be behind the piracy in the Yemeni and Somali waters as al-Qaeda called on its militants last April to transfer operations to the Gulf of Aden and to control entrances in the Red Sea...