Somali pirates free 26 Asian sailors held since 2012
MOGADISHU - Somali pirates have freed 26 Asian sailors held captive in a small fishing village for more than four years since their ship was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, a government official said on Saturday.
The sailors -- from China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan -- were seized close to the Seychelles in February 2012, a time when pirate attacks were a regular occurrence in waters linking Europe with Africa and Asia.
"The crew is here (in Galkayo). They will be flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Saturday," local mayor Hirsi Yusuf Barre, told Reuters.
"The crew did not say if ransom was paid," he added.
