More pirates rounded up by EU naval forces

(BRUSSELS) - European Union naval forces on Friday rounded up a new crew of suspected pirates, destroying one skiff and seizing another "as evidence."

A patrol helicopter from Luxembourg spotted a mother ship between the Seychelles and the Somali coast, a statement from EU-Navfor HQ outside London said, and a German warship rushed to the scene.

On approach, "two small skiffs attempted to flee the scene and pirate paraphernalia consisting of ladders and hooks were seen being jettisoned overboard," it said.

Boarding parties mounted all three vessels and "all suspected pirates have now been returned to the mother ship, one of the skiffs has been sunk and (the German warship) has retained the third skiff as evidence."