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Somali pirates have reportedly released seven Indian sailors who were held hostage for nearly four years.
According to News 24, Somali officials and a maritime monitoring group said on Friday that the sailors were freed in exchange for an undisclosed ransom
The sailors, who were taken captive after the pirates hijacked the Panama-flagged ship MT Asphalt Venture in September 2010, were freed on Thursday.
The pirates had earlier released eight of their colleagues along with the ship in April 2011 for a ransom.
Kenyan-based Ecoterra International, which monitors maritime activity on the Indian Ocean, issued a statement confirming the sailors' release, saying that the remaining seven hostages were finally freed by their captors against a ransom and arrived in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, from where they will be flown directly to India.
