Somali forces free pirate hostages

Somali forces on Tuesday freed the 11-man crew of a hijacked ship and captured the 10 pirates who seized the vessel last week, according to the foreign minister for Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of northern Somalia.

Puntland's coast guard and Rescue Commando Forces raided the Panama-flagged ship -- the Wail -- in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast at 10 a.m. (0700 GMT), Puntland Foreign Minister Ali Abdi Aware told CNN.

Ten pirates hijacked the ship, with its crew of two Somalis and nine Syrians, Thursday night, Aware said.