A British couple from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK have been seized by pirates while sailing from the Seychelles to Tanzania. A spokesman for the pirates confirmed to a local New York Times reporter in Somalia by telephone that the couple was being taken to Xarardheere, a pirate stronghold on the Somali coast north of Mogadishu, and that ransom demands would be made after they arrived.

A few hours later the spokesman called back to say that the pirates and their captives had been attacked by a “naval forces”, and that two of the pirates’ vessels had been sunk. Another version says that the pirates scuttled their own boats, and that they were all aboard the captured sailboat. They were expected in Xarardheere yesterday but have not arrived.

The couple was on a round-the-world trip in their 12 m sloop Lynn Rival. They are experienced sailors. New York Times, The Times

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