Sunday November 27, 2022
Hobyo (HOL) - Galmudug regional state officials said they rescued 20 Pakistani and Iranian nationals on Saturday night who were reportedly held captive by al-Shabaab for several years.
The men told security officials in Hobyo town that they were fishermen captured by al Shabab in Somali waters.
The men were apprehended while travelling in two boats between Hobyo and Haradhere on Saturday night.
Officials added that the rescue operation was said to have taken place near the El-Hur area.
Security officials were working on extraditing them to their home countries.In August 2020, three Iranian fishermen were released by Somali pirates after being held for five years after a $180,000 ransom was paid.
During the height of piracy in the central Indian Ocean, Somali pirates took thousands of hostages in raids on hundreds of ships, earning various groups hundreds of millions in ransom payments.