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Special Forces from South Korea stormed a cargo ship taken over by pirates in the Arabian Sea and rescued the 21-member crew.
The rescue attempt occurred a week after the cargo ship, Samho Jewelry, was hijacked by Somali pirates. The ship had eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 people from Myanmar and was carrying chemicals from the UAE towards Sri Lanka.
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Eight pirates were killed in the rescue mission, South Korea said.
South Korea launched a rescue operation before dawn with a Lynx helicopter providing covering fire and a South Korean destroyer, when the pirates left the vessel to hijack a Mongolian ship nearby, media reports stated.
"Three of our soldiers suffered light scratches on their bodies as they were fired upon by pirates on Tuesday," Col. Lee told BBC.
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The captain of the ship had been shot but his injuries were not life threatening, he added. The captain had been airlifted to a hospital nearby.
South Korea is a part of an anti-piracy patrol in the area.
However, most often countries refrain from storming pirated vessels as it might endanger the lives of the hostages.
"We will not tolerate any behavior that threatens the lives and safety of our people in the future," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said in a televised statement.
The South Korean government made is clear that they would not be bullied or give in ransom threats by pirates in the future.
Some regard this strong response to the pirates operation as a way of making up for its delayed reaction when attacked by North Korean forces last year.
Critics said Lee's military was too slow and weak in its response to the attack, which killed two marines and two civilians, the Washington Post said.
SOMALI PIRATES
Somalia has not seen a peaceful regime since 1991, and has been marked by interclan fighting, piracy, bandits and civil war.
