Frenchwoman being held by Somali pirates rescued | Irish Sun

Frenchwoman being held by Somali pirates rescued

Irish Sun (IANS) Monday 12th September, 2011

The Spanish armed forces rescued a Frenchwoman who was being held captive in the Indian Ocean by the pirates who murdered her husband last week, Defence Minister Carme Chacon said.

The amphibious assault ship Galicia carried out the operation and captured seven people aboard the pirate vessel, Chacon told EFE.

The Frenchwoman's husband was killed last Thursday, the same day that the pirates captured the couple's vessel.

The Galicia took action after it detected a suspicious vessel while on patrol off the coast of Somalia.

The pirate ship tried to blackmail the military vessel by showing 'a white hostage', Chacon said.

The Galicia ordered the suspicious skiff to halt, the Spanish defense ministry said in a statement released in Madrid.

The skiff ignored the order to stop and the Galicia's commander ordered that shots be fired across the pirate boat's bow.

The pirates brought out the woman in an effort to get the Spanish vessel to stop its pursuit.

The 'Operation Atalanta' command ordered the Spanish vessel, which is part of the anti-piracy operation, to fire at the skiff's engine. A helicopter and an assault team took out the pirate vessel's engine.

The pirates opened fire on the Spanish military personnel, who returned fire, sinking the skiff.

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