Somali pirates have hijacked an Egyptian vessel off the coast of the Horn of Africa country, the latest in a spate of piracy that has been on the rise along the Somali coast in recent months, local media reported on Thursday.
Heavy armed pirates took the vessel off Somali coast on late Wednesday and headed for the central Somali coastal town of Eyl which has been used as a base by pirates, local Shabelle radio quoted officials of the northeastern Somali region as reporting.
The vessel, whose type and number of crew or passengers onboard are unknown, was reportedly flying an Egyptian flag.
More than 30 ships, 11 of them in the past two months alone, have been attacked this year, making that stretch of the coastline one of the most dangerous in the world.
A French tourist yatch carrying two French national was also abducted on Wednesday by Somali pirates who now demanded as much as five million U.S. dollars for the release of the tourists and the yacht.
A spate of hijackings by pirates off the coast of Somalia, fuelled by huge ransom payouts, has triggered the deployment of a multi-coalition naval force to patrol the world's most dangerous waters.
European warship has been deployed in an effort to track missing vessels along the coastal region of Somalia but have largely been unable to stop the rampant piracy.
The U.S. Navy said western coalition warships and aircraft will conduct patrols to boost security in the Gulf of Aden after pirates hijacked a German ship off Somali coast.
Source:Xinhua
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