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Global

Turkish navy commandos capture pirates off Somalia


    ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish commandos captured five pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Friday as part of a NATO mission to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, the military said.

    The navy commandos, aided by a helicopter, raided a skiff as the pirates on board were about to launch an attack on a ship, the military said in a statement.

    NATO member Turkey has sent a warship to the Gulf of Aden under an international mission deployed off Somalia since the turn of the year to try to prevent attacks.

    Somali sea gangs, operating in the strategic shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe, have made millions of dollars in ransom from hijacking vessels in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

    Piracy has ballooned off the Somali coast in recent years where the sea gangs continue to defy foreign navies patrolling the vast shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe. (Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)