Indian navy captures 61 pirates

The Indian navy captured 61 pirates from a hijacked boat after a brief gunfight in the Arabian Sea, the military said Monday.

Indian ships also rescued 13 crewmembers from the Mozambiquan fishing vessel Sunday night nearly 695 miles off the coast of Kochi in southern India, the navy’s statement said.

The navy was checking whether the pirates were from Somalia or Yemen.

Piracy has plagued the shipping industry off East Africa for years, but violence and ransom demands have escalated in recent months. Pirates held some 30 ships and more than 660 hostages as of February.

This was the third anti-piracy operation by the Indian navy this year. The navy captured 28 Somali pirates last month and another 15 in January.

Indian warships have been escorting merchant ships through the area since 2008 as part of international anti-piracy patrols.
Source: AP