The Indian navy said it arrested 23 pirates who threatened a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday , the latest in a series of recent clashes with Somali pirates .
the Gulf of Aden
indian navy say arrest 23 pirate threaten merchant vessel gulf aden saturday late series recent clash somali pirate
The Indian navy said it arrested 23 pirates who threatened a merchant vessel in <m> the Gulf of Aden </m> on Saturday , the latest in a series of recent clashes with Somali pirates .
The Indian navy said it arrested 23 pirates who threatened a merchant vessel in <m> the Gulf of Aden </m> on Saturday , the latest in a series of recent clashes with Somali pirates .
Indian forces repulsed the pirates as they were about to board the merchant ship , navy spokesman Commander Nirad Sinha said .
The pirates are from Somalia and Yemen , two countries surrounding the Gulf of Aden , Sinha said .
No further details were immediately available .
Last month , India 's navy drew criticism after sinking a Thai fishing trawler that had been commandeered hours earlier by pirates .
The navy defended its actions , saying it had fired in self-defense .
Somali pirates have become increasingly brazen in recent months , seizing a number of vessels including a Saudi supertanker loaded with $ 100 million worth of crude oil .
Somalia , an impoverished nation caught up in an Islamic insurgency , has not had a functioning government since 1991 .