Mogadishu, April 18 (Inditop) NATO forces Saturday freed 20 people taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden last week, a media report said.
A Dutch warship in a NATO anti-piracy mission freed 20 Yemeni hostages from a vessel that was captured by the pirates last week, the report quoted a NATO spokesperson as saying.
Seven Somali pirates were captured in the operation, it said.
Of late, attacks on ships by Somali pirates have increased in the Gulf of Aden. Several countries have sent their warships to the region to protect the shipping lanes.