French capture 35 pirates

A French frigate operating off the coast of Somalia has captured 35 pirates in just 48 hours, the French Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It was the biggest such haul since EU navies started patrolling the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean in December 2008 in an effort to end a spate of hijackings in the busy shipping lanes.

The French frigate, the Nivose, seized four "mother ships" and six skiffs in various sweeps on pirates over the past two days, with a Spanish aerial patrol and two helicopters identifying and tracking down the pirates.

"Some warning shots were needed to dissuade the pirates from fleeing," the ministry statement said.

They did not say where the men would be taken, though both Kenya and the Seychelles have been prosecuting pirates on behalf of Western nations patrolling the seas.

The coast off Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous places for shipping.