Somali pirates abandon hijacked Turkish ship off Kenyan coast

Somali pirates abandon hijacked Turkish vessel

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy is holding six suspected pirates after a sea battle off the Horn of Africa.

It’s the third U.S. Navy encounter with pirates in the past 10 days in the violence-plagued waters off Somalia and nearby regions. At least 21 suspected pirates have been captured.

The U.S. Navy says suspected pirates began shooting at the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland Saturday, about 380 miles off Djibouti, a small nation facing Yemen across the mouth of the Red Sea.

The Navy says the Ashland returned fire and the suspected pirate skiff was destroyed. All six people on board were rescued and taken aboard the Ashland.

The Ashland suffered no injuries or damage.