In a show of strength against rampant piracy, French forces have detained 11 pirates on a "mother ship" and thwarted a pirate attack on a Liberian-registered vessel.
![A picture released by the French Army shows French soldiers intercepting pirates off the coast of Kenya. [ECPAD/AFP]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20090416/001ec94a1ee40b50e39d05.jpg "A picture released by the French Army shows French soldiers intercepting pirates off the coast of Kenya. [ECPAD/AFP]") |
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A picture released by the French Army shows French soldiers intercepting pirates off the coast of Kenya. [ECPAD/AFP]
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The French Defense Ministry says one of their surveillance helicopters spotted the pirates' mother ship on Tuesday.
After observing the pirates overnight, French forces launched an attack on the 10-meter long vessel early Wednesday.
The ship was intercepted 900-kilometers east of the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The 11 pirates are being held on a French frigate that is part of a European mission to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden.
(CCTV April 16, 2009)
