>Yesterday, on 24 July 2009 Turkish naval special forces arrested 5 Somalian pirates. This is thew first time that Turkish naval forces actually detain pirates.
According to the General Metin Gürak, chief of the communications department of the General Staff, F-495 TCG Gediz rendered a band of 5 Somali pirates ineffective as a result of the operation. “Five pirates were captured after our frigate was informed about their preparations to seize another ship off the Somali coast. stated Gürak. during the operation the naval special forces team from TCG Gediz was assisted by a helicopter from the F-490 TCG Gaziantep, the second Turkish frigate in the region.
Helicopters of the Turkish frigates help deterring attacks on merchant ships previously but this is the first time that Turkish naval commandos actually capture pirates.
The pirates were later turned over to NATO officials, according to newspaper reports. As NATO does not have a mandate or legal base to prosecute the pirates, they were eventually released. But the details about the where and when the pirates were released is not available.
The following photos were released by Turkish General Staff:
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