Hostages free after years in pirate captivity

Beaten, tortured and held for nearly three years in captivity, these hostages are finally starting their journey home.

Somali pirates captured 24 crew members of a Dubai-owned ship flying a Panama flag in March 2010.

A 15-day rescue operation culminating in a gun battle between maritime police and the pirates, succeeded last week in rescuing the hostages.

On Sunday the men who are Filipino, Ghanaian, Indian, Pakistani and Sudanese boarded a UN plane for Kenya.

Two hostages died during captivity.

But more than 100 hostages are still in the hands of Somali pirates, who raid ships in the Gulf of Aden and hold the captives for ransom.