President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed described the brutality of the Al-Shabaab militant group and other insurgents during the annual U.N. General Assembly debate.

He also discussed what he said was the scourge of maritime terror on the same day a Panamanian flagged ship sailing off the Somali coast was attacks by pirates early Saturday,

He cited several attacks by Al-Shabaab, including strikes against hotels, a suicide bombing at a university, and in Uganda, a country that provided troops to the African Union to help the government.

Ahmed urged nations to continue to assist Somalia in training its forces and supporting the AU contingent.

"I call upon the U.N. Security Council to pass a strong resolution with the view to deterring the spread of Al Qaeda terrorists and their home-grown affiliates such as Al-Shabaab."

The waters around the Horn of Africa, especially off the coast of lawless Somalia, have become a hub for piracy, making the busy shipping routes among the most dangerous in the world.

Ahmed denounced the pirates who hijack freighters in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Most recently, a Panamanian flagged ship sailing off the Somali coast was pirated early Saturday, the European Union's anti-piracy task force said.

The MV Lugela was carrying steel bars and wires and had sailed through the Gulf of Aden heading to Mauritius.

It was about 900 miles east of Eyl, Somalia when it sent out a distress alert to its Greek operator Saturday, said the European Union Naval Force Somalia.

A short while later, the ship altered its course and was sailing towards the Somali coast. There has been no contact with the ship.