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MOGADISHU, Somalia: Security forces in northern Somalia stormed a hijacked ship Tuesday, rescuing the hostages and arresting seven pirates in an operation that wounded three people, officials said.
The Dubai-flagged ship, which was seized Monday, originated from the United Arab Emirates, said Abdullahi Said Samatar, security affairs minister in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region.
"Our forces rescued a small commercial boat hijacked on Monday off the coast of Bossaso town," Samatar told The Associated Press. "Three were injured in the operation and seven others will be brought to justice."
It was not immediately clear how many people had been held on the ship.
Piracy is rampant off Somalia's coast. The U.S. and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat.
SOURCE: AP, April 22, 2008