French Frigate Foils Attack, Captures Pirates

A French warship nabbed a boat full of pirates in the Gulf of Aden today, responding to a distress call from a Panamanian vessel, Reuters reports. The pirates fled when they saw the French ship approach, but they later returned to try their luck with the ship again, and the frigate captured them. “Resistance was impossible when faced by a well-armed warship,” said a French armed forces spokesman.

Inside the vessel, the French found a rocket launcher, assault rifles, and boarding ladders. The pirates will be taken to Somalia for trial. France has been a particularly active anti-piracy force in Somalia, having nabbed 29 of the sea bandits since last April. (More Somalia stories.)