Yemen probes suspected piracy in the Gulf of Aden

Aug 13, 2008, 17:59 GMT

Sana'a, Yemen - Yemeni officials said they were investigating reports that a British ship may have been attacked and hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden Wednesday.

The officials in the southern port of Aden said coast guard authorities began contacts with warships operating in the Horn of Africa as part of international anti-terrorism task force to ascertain reports that pirates may have taken over the ship.

The ship was reportedly attacked at around 100 miles from the Yemeni coasts as it sailed to the Aden port Wednesday.

'We are investigating the reported attack,' a port official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, without giving further details.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, mainly off the Somali coast, which lies at the mouth of the Red Sea, has been rife since the country slid into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted by warlords in 1991.

Frequent pirate attacks in this major trade route between Asia and Europe have made the region the world's most dangerous for pirate activities.

On Friday, Somali pirates released a German couple which had been kidnapped in late June as they sailed through the Gulf of Aden.