INQUIRER Global Nation

NAIROBI—Somali pirates on Friday captured a Spanish fishing boat off the coast of the lawless Horn of Africa country, a maritime official told Agence France-Presse.

"It was hijacked this morning. We do not know the exact location yet," said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based Seafarers Assistance Program, which monitors pirate activity.

A Spanish military official told AFP in Madrid that the Alakrana sent a distress call to another Spanish fishing vessel in the vicinity which in turn alerted a frigate with the European Union's anti-piracy naval force.