San'a, Yemen: Seven pirates opened fire on a German naval supply ship in the Gulf of Aden but were chased down and captured by an international anti-piracy task force, the US Navy and European officials said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Yemen reported that pirates killed a Yemeni fisherman and wounded two others in an attack on a fishing boat Saturday, also in the Gulf of Aden.
The expanse between Somalia and Yemen is one of the world's busiest waterways and the thousands of ships passing through each year have been plagued by pirate attacks.
In the attack on the German ship, pirates apparently mistook German FGS Spessart supply vessel for a commercial ship when they opened fire on it on Sunday afternoon, US Navy 5th Fleet spokesman Lt Nate Christensen said.
The German sailors returned fire and pursued the skiff while also calling in for support. Several naval ships -- including a Greek and a Dutch frigate, a Spanish warship and the USS Boxer -- sped to the area while a Spanish marine aircraft and two US Marine Cobra helicopters joined the pursuit.
Five hours later, Greek sailors reached the pirate skiff, boarded it and seized the seven suspects and their weapons, including assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the Greek navy said.
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