The Spanish navy launched its assault on pirates who had seized a fishing boat called the Gavi.
A Spanish frigate and Spain's aircraft carrier, the Juan Carlos I, drew up alongside to halt their escape in an operation called Eunavfor Sarunia.
Two Spanish dinghies sped at the Gavi, one of them peppering its deck with machine gun fire, while the other one deployed a special forces team on board.
A helicopter air-dropped a second team on Gavi's deck, under cover of snipers fro...
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Already a member? Login hereAndrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.