MOGADISHU, April 18 (PNA/Xinhua) -- NATO forces on Saturday captured seven Somali pirates and freed 20 people taken hostage by the pirates in the Gulf of Aden, according to agencies reports.
The reports quoted a NATO spokesperson as saying that a Dutch warship with NATO mission took action after the pirates launched attack on the tanker MT Handytankers Magic in the Gulf of Aden.
They chased the pirates fleeing on a small skiff and later boarded a Yemeni-flagged fishing dhow which was captured by the pirates on Sunday and taken as their "mother ship".
The Dutch forces freed 20 Yemeni hostages on the dhow which had been held since last week, according to the reports.
The incident took place after a U.S. captain who has been held hostage by Somali pirates for five days arrived on Friday at his hometown in Vermont.
After a five-day standoff, the U.S. Navy seal operatives killed the pirates who held Phillips as hostage in a lifeboat, and finally set him free.
Somalia has been engulfed in domestic turbulence since early 1990s as several groups vie for control.
Pirate attacks on ships off Somalia have created disturbance in the world. Several countries sent their warships off Somali to protect commercial vessels. (PNA/Xinhua)