PARIS/MADRID – A French woman was freed from pirates after a Spanish navy patrol boat fought a fierce gun battle off the Somali coast, Spain’s defence ministry said.
The gunboat spotted the pirates’ skiff on Saturday afternoon and, with the help of a naval warfare team and a helicopter, sank the vessel and rescued the hostage. The woman had been sailing with her husband on a catamaran when pirates attacked. They kidnapped her and killed her husband. – (Reuters)