France sending elite team to help free yacht held by pirates off Somalia
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The French Foreign Ministry says elite French troops are being sent to East Africa to bolster efforts to free captives held by pirates holding their yacht off Somalia.
Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani says a team of the GIGN commando force is being sent to Djibouti to "reinforce" negotiation teams in place.
A French frigate already is tracking the yacht off Somalia.
Andreani told an online briefing Monday that contact has been made with the pirates and that the hostages are safe and sound.