Seychelles captures 11 suspected pirates

10:53 PDT PARIS, France (AP) -- French soldiers successfully defended two fishing boats from capture by pirates in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, and 11 men suspected of involvement in the failed attack were pursued at sea and captured, officials said.
The chain of events illustrated the teamwork in the international community to crack down on piracy in the Indian Ocean, where pirates cruise the waters searching for boats to hijack for ransoms.

After French soldiers chased away the pirates, the coast guard of the Seychelles archipelago, south of where the attack took place, chased the assailants. The coast guard captured two boats — a small craft with eight men aboard and a larger ship carrying three that was the pirates' suspected mothership, said Jacqueline Sherriff, chief press officer for the maritime unit of NATO in Northwood, outside London.

It was not clear how many pirates had been involved in the attack, and whether any got away. The nationality of the suspects was not known, but Somali pirates are active in the Indian Ocean... more: