The Kenyan navy shot dead three suspected Somali pirates who had attacked a naval patrol off the coastal town of Kilifi, the Kenyan defence ministry spokesman said Saturday.
The exact circumstances of the incident, in which a fourth suspected pirate drowned trying to flee, were not immediately clear but spokesman Bogita Ongeri said the gang attacked a Kenyan navy ship at around 11:30 pm (2030 GMT) Friday.
Ongeri said the attack took place well inside Kenyan waters, off the town of Kilifi, which is located some 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the country's main port of Mombasa.
"The government will not relent in its fight against piracy", Ongeri said, adding that he would make more details available after hearing the Kenyan captain's report.
Somali pirates have over the past two years expanded their area of operations south and east in the Indian Ocean to avoid the heavily-patrolled waters of the Gulf of Aden, initially their preferred hunting zone.
Kenya and the Seychelles are the only coastal countries to have agreed to try suspects handed over by foreign navies.
Kenya has since routinely complained the deal was straining an already stretched court system.
Last week 26 suspects accused of piracy were freed either for lack of evidence or because the court said it did not have jurisdiction.
The rulings have raised questions over the future of Kenya's judicial agreement with foreign navies.
earlier related report
Pirates seize ship with 29 Chinese sailors aboard: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) Nov 13, 2010 –
Pirates have seized a ship carrying 29 Chinese sailors in the Arabian Sea, Beijing's official Xinhua news agency quoted the China Marine Rescue Centre as saying on Saturday.
The Panamanian-registered freighter, the "Yuan Xiang", was hijacked late on Friday, Xinhua said.
The China Marine Rescue Centre said it had not been able to contact the ship's crew and that the fate of the sailors remained unclear.
The centre received a report from the Ningbo Hongyuan Ship Management Co., Ltd. saying the ship had been attacked by pirates late on Friday.
Xinhua said that the pirates had told the shipping company that the vessel was sailing towards Somalia.
The centre said that efforts were under way through international anti-piracy organisations to rescue the crew.
The waters of the Arabian Sea, at the northern tip of the Indian Ocean, have seen hundreds of pirate attacks in recent years.
The United Nations has warned that Somali pirates are becoming more brazen and keeping ahead of the international naval force seeking to control them.
The pirates have kidnapped almost 100 new crew and passengers from ships in less than a month and there are now at least 438 seafarers and 20 ships held by bandits, according to figures from the International Maritime Organization.
The pirates announced earlier this month they had received a record nine-million-dollar ransom for a South Korean supertanker.
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