Indian naval forces successfully rescued the crew of 20 aboard the Iranian fishing boat Azini, which had been hijacked off the coast of Somalia. The operation, spanning over 48 hours, concluded on Monday in the Arabian Sea, approximately 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) from Mumbai, according to India’s Defense Ministry.
During the rescue, Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates and confiscated their mobile phones, an official with the Puntland Maritime Police Force told The Associated Press. The suspects, along with two Somali security guards, later came ashore at Bandar Bayla in northeastern Somalia. Three individuals who came ashore sustained minor injuries, though the official did not specify their identities or the cause of the injuries.
The Indian Defense Ministry stated that the operation resulted in no casualties or injuries. The ministry did not clarify if this count included everyone aboard the vessel or solely the rescued crew.
The Azini was initially hijacked on October 29 between Bandar Bayla and Hafun. A maritime police officer from Puntland had previously reported that the vessel carried 21 Iranian crew members and two Somali security guards, a discrepancy from India’s rescue figure that was not immediately explained.
The Indian Navy's operation involved a warship, a maritime surveillance aircraft, and marine commandos. Additional commandos were deployed via an airdrop from an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft, according to the ministry. Indian forces tracked the hijacked vessel by both sea and air before executing the rescue. There had been concerns that pirates might utilize the fishing boat as a mobile base for launching further attacks on commercial shipping.
